Paranormal Files
by Phoenixflower17
Summary: An eighteen year old girl named Kate, is an aspiring photographer, with a passion for ghosts. When she is offered a job to work with the Ghost Adventures crew as their photographer and a new investigator for their team, What could it all lead too?
1. Introduction and a dream job

Chapter one

Kate is a bright eighteen year old girl with dreams and passions of becoming a professional photographer. She has wavy black hair about two or three inches longer then shoulder length with eyes that match, and she has very dark highlights in her bangs that are deep red. She has an olive complextion skin tone and stands about 5"4. Her sense of style is nothing real fashonable nor boyish, and definately not skimpy.

She comes from a decent sized family of about five. Two older brothers, a mother and a father. Her father is a news reporter for a TV station and her mother does a lot of volunteer work at animal shelters. She has two older brothers named Mickey and Logan. Mickey is the oldest, and a tall sensitive guy who works as a police officer for the Miami Florida police department, and Logan is the middle child, and more of an outspoken guy who works as a correctional officer.

The three get a long well and are very close, though they live in different states. I have already told you where Mickey lives, so Logan lives in Queens New York, while Kate lives in San Diego California. Their parents met in Santa Fe New Mexico, and moved to Queens after they got married. They live a few minutes away from Logan and his family. Mickey isn't married like Logan who already has a wife and a two year old son, and Kate always jumped from bad relationship to bad relationship and has currently given up on love for the time being.

Kate has been living in California since she was seventeen and lives with her good friend Lance who was about twenty years old and going through beauty school. Kate is someone who expects anything to happen in life, but some things you just can't prepare for... You'll see what I mean if you continue to read on...

...In the middle of a Sunday afternoon past one, Kate was sitting on the bench on her college campus on her computer. She was taking that time to file job applications for a photographer position. Her professors all suggested with her level of talent and knowledge she had already after her first year, that she look for a job that would get her even more experience. She sent in applications to malls for a family picture photographer, Zoo's for animal pictures for the guests, and even part time jobs like a photographer for the Santa Clause in the mall at Christmas time. The way she was supporting herself now was by taking pictures and sending them into newpapers and magazines for only a little amount of about 200 dollars a picture.

She wanted to live on her own, but she couldn't afford it so she lived with her friend Lance who was in in beauty school becoming a hair stylist. They lived in a spacious apartment in San Diego about three miles away from Los Angeles. As she typed away on her computer, Lance came over and sat down to see what she was doing. "Hey, haven't seen you all afternoon, you've been here all this time?" He asked. "Yeah, I told you I needed to find a job somewhere, I can't make it off of magazine articles and News paper stories." She replied. Lance sighed and looked up at the clear blue sky. "And why are you here this hour? I thought you had a test around one thirty." She asked. "Well, I have a little time to kill." He replied putting an arm around her. He looked on her screen and saw she was filing for a job as a photographer for weddings." No, you won't get the professional experience you need and you'll be around bridezilla's!" He replied. "And how do you know what kind of experience I need if you've never taken a professional picture in your life?" She asked with her arms folded. "It's real simple, I am artistically gifted from going to beauty school. I know what I am saying, you need to find a place with a lot more action and a little more outside the box if you want to get noticed for something big. "He explained. "But I have no idea who would hire an eighteen year old to take professional pictures for them no matter how much experience I have. My age is the main cause of all my job struggles." She replied.

Lance took her computer off her lap and placed it on his, typing in names of places she could send applications in for. She watched as he searched all the corners of the internet. He finally found something and opened the page. "Feast your eyes on this!" He said happily. She read the screen and it said "Entertainment Way Studio's." "Lance, I know you want me to think outside the box and try for bigger things, but there is no chance I'll be able to get a job in the entertainment business." Said Kate. "Now I think you should try this out, you may find someone who will hire you." He replied urging her to try. "But Lance, that place makes shows for Television, what on earth are they gonna do with a photographer? "She asked. "Kate, your not only a photographer, you have studied a lot more about photography then just how to take pictures. You've studied graphics and analyzation of fake pictures, so that also makes you an analyzer, editor all those things! You could be used for numerous things." He replied. "Yeah like a receptionist," she replied in a sarcastic tone. "Kate you never know until you try and your really not trying here." He replied. "Come on, think about it."

She looked at her computer screen and gazed on the help wanted button. She was hesitant to even think about it. "This is impossible," she thought..." but maybe not so," she thought again. She placed her finger on the mouse pad and clicked on the help wanted sign. She began to fill out her form including all the experience she had and all the extra things she learned to do with graphics in school. She finished and hit the next button and a screen came up verifying if she wanted to send her information over to the Studio. The two looked at each other and looked back at the screen. "Hit confirm," Lance urged. "I don't know," she replied. "it's not like it's the only job you have any chance of getting." He replied. "Huh, you'd be suprised how possible that is," she replied. After a couple more seconds of staring, she figured she needed to at least try. "Click!" Lance cried. "Fine!" She replied clicking the button. "Oh this is a complete waste of my life! I'll be rejected and have to spend all day tomorrow looking some other job I should have applied for today! "She cried. "Well at least you'll know you had tried. "He replied. "Yeah I guess so." She turned her computer off and placed it back in her bag. "Well while I wait for my rejection letter to arrive, I am going to go get something to eat before my graphics class starts at two." She said as she got up and did a few stretches to get her body moving. "Thank you for trying to find me an impossible dream job," she said in a jokingly sarcastic tone. "You never know what's around the corner, and trying is not failing even if you don't succeed." Lance replied. "Yeah, I guess so, I'll see you in a bit, have fun in class." She replied walking in the direction of a nearby diner. Lance then remembered his class and was two minutes away from being late. "Ah! I'll see you this evening at the cafe!" He cried as he ran for his school which was thankfully across the street.

Kate walked down the grassy road and looked up at the palm tree's and the birds that tried to land on the leaves for rest. As she did this she took in a deep breath of the fresh tropical air. She looked up at the clouds and wondered if she really had a shot at doing something in the entertainment business. "I wonder if I really have a shot at this," she wondered. To keep herself from hoping to much, she put on her mp3 player and drained the thoughts out of her mind with the music as she picked up her pace to get something to eat before she had to get through the rest of her busy day.

At the Entertainment Way Studio's, people where hard at work making scripts for shows. Though the Studio wasn't very big, some shows where made if it didn't take a whole floor or stage. This place was more like an office rather then a studio. On the ninth floor of the building, Kate's application was sent directly to the director of that production floor. The ninth floor of the studio was the floor where the show Ghost Adventures was made.

Zak Bagans was the director of that floor and was sitting at his desk going through his e-mails. He noticed Kate's on the very top of the page the subject was "Application." He clicked on the e-mail and began to read through it. He couldn't believe what he was reading. "An eighteen year old who knows this much in photography? This has to be a lie." He thought. He checked the box and was about to click delete, but something was holding him back from deleting it. He was wondering maybe to consider her for the job, but he wasn't sure. "Maybe I should talk to the guys first," he thought. He kept the e-mail, printed it out, and left his office to find Nick and Aaron.

He went down the elivator into a private lounge where they could take their breaks and found them sitting at a table drinking water and making jokes. "Hey guys, we need to have a meeting about that Photo expert we needed." Said Zak holding a printout of her e-mail. "What's that in your hands?" Asked Nick. "It's the e-mail the applicant sent. "He replied handing it to him. " Take a look at what kind of experience she has with photography." He said. Nick and Aaron read the e-mail and where just as suprsied and impressed as Zak was. "Wow, she knows a lot more then taking a bunch of pictures," Aaron replied in a suprsied tone. "I told you, I think we need to set up a meeting with her tomorrow afternoon." Zak suggested. Nick took a look at her age and noticed she was pretty young. "Zak, didn't you see how old she is? She's only eighteen, how can a teenager know this much in photography? "Asked Nick. "I know she's young, but I think we should invite her here tomorrow and see for ourselves what she is like. We could tell if she's lying if we see her in person. "He replied. Nick and Aaron liked the idea and figured she deserved a chance. "Alright, if you think it's worth time. "Nick replied. "I think so," Zak replied. Aaron got a big smile on his face and replied in a happy tone. "I want a girl to work with us!" Zak shoved him playfully as he left the room. "Get back to work guys!" He cried. They all went back to work ready to meet Kate the next day.

After Kate had been in class all day long, she was tired and ready for bed. But first she wanted to eat at her favorite cafe with Lance. She got in her car and headed down the road for the cafe. As she drove down the highway, she got the feeling and urge to check her computer for the e-mail. She tried to focus more on the road and her test she had to study for tomorrow, but her mind kept drifting back to that thought. "It's all false hope and dreams I will never catch." She thought. She finally made it to the diner and found Lance sitting outside at their usual table. She parked the car and went over to eat with him with her computer in hand. She sat down beside him and placed her computer on the third chair. "Hey ,how was your hair test?" she asked. "Aced, and how did yours go?" He asked. "Did good," she replied looking at her menu. "I already ordered you the lemonade you usually get." Lance said taking a sip of his usual coffee. "Thanks,what's todays special?" She asked. "The cookies and cream cake and cupcakes. You get one of each for only two dollars a plate." He replied. "That sounds good, I'll get that." She replied. "I'll do the cheesecake for me with the powdered doughnuts." Lance replied. The waitor came over and took their orders for them.

After he left, Lance brought up the subject of her job again. "Did you hear back from Entertainment way yet?" He asked in an eager tone. "I haven't checked, but I have thought about it almost all day and on the drive over here." She replied. "That means you have hope!" Lance cried cheerfully. "No! It's false hope! It's your fault I'm thinking about it all the time!" She cried. "Why can't you hope in something like this?" Lance asked. "Because you have to be pretty lucky to get into the entertainent business! "She replied. "1% of the world has famous people populating it if that, and the other 99% is made up of normal people with no special talent." She explained. "Yes, but you could fit into the equation of famous people and bring it a little closer to two." He replied. "You just don't know how to think realistically, do you?" She said. "I know how to have hope in unseen things, that may not be something everybody does in this world, but it's something we ALL need to learn to have. Then this world may actually not be so depressing. "Lance replied. The waitor came back over with their food and while he was serving them, Lance noticed her computer was sitting on the chair.

After the waitor left, he asked her why she had brought it. "If you have no expectation of any good news from the studio, then why do you have your computer with you tonight?" He asked. "I need it to study tomorrow." She replied. "But you never study when we eat here." He argued back. "Well maybe I decided to do something different." She replied in an aggressive tone. "Your lying to me and your getting aggressive, so just admit your a little hopefull in this job!" Lance cried. "Fine!"Kate cried making the surrounding people look at her for a moment. "I am a little anxious to see what the studio has to say," she replied in a quieter tone. "Then open your pc and let's see if you have a reply to the e-mail!" Lance replied. Kate looked down at her computer and got nervous butterflies in her stomach. "I guess we can take a quick look," she replied reaching over for it .She placed it on the table and angled it so they both could view it. She turned it on and waited for her mail page to load. The page read she had two new e-mails. She clicked on her inbox and found one from her friend Jona who lived in Los Angeles, and to her surprise, a reply from entertainment way studios. The two stared at the subject that read "appointment." "What do you think that means?" She asked. "I don't know but it sounds good!" Lance cried. Kate nervously clicked the e-mail and she began to read aloud what it said:

"Dear Ms Rowten,

We have recieved your application and would like to set up an appointment with you for tomorrow after noon at two o clock for an interview. The part of the studio that is interested in hiring you for a possible photographer and analysis position is floor nine where the show "Ghost Adventures" is made. Please respond to this e-mail within twelve hours of recieveing it, and come to the address below.

Thank you for contacting entertainment way studios!"

Lance and Kate where speechless. They couldn't believe what it said. Lance knew what the show ghost adventures was, but Kate had no idea what show they where talking about. "Oh my gosh!" He cried. "Yeah, I know," Kate replied in a shocked and puzzled tone. "Kate, Ghost Adventures is the best paranormal phenomena show out there!" He cried. "What is ghost adventures exactly?" She asked. Lance couldn't believe she didn't know the show since it was so popular, but he explained to her every detail about the show and who each investigator was. "Wow, paranormal phenomena, that's pretty intense!" She cried in surprise. "Don't you like paranormal phenomena?" Asked Lance.

There was a side to Kate that not even her family knew about her, but secretly she loved paranormal study. She read books on it watched other kinds of shows on TV about it, she even had been to a couple haunted locations like a few haunted houses in San Diego. She kept it a secret from her father, and her brothers ,but not her mother since she was always open and understanding with her. Her father and brothers where very overprotective of her especially Logan. If they knew she liked paranormal study, they would flip out over the dangers of that kind of passion.

"I would love to do something like that Lance! I have such a big interest in paranormal phenomena! "She replied. Lance gave her a hug congratulate her. He could tell by the way she was talking that she was happy about the results. "Thanks for making me try out this stupid thing!" She cried happily. "I told you to listen to me! Do it more often!" He replied.

She got back online and sent a reply back to the studio and shut her computer down. "Well, we better get done eating and head home, you have a big interview tomorrow!" Lance cheered happily. "Yeah I do," Kate replied as her mind began to drift off imagining what it would be like to work for a paranormal investigation team. They finished their deserts and went home to settle down for the night.

Back at entertainment way studios, the studio was about to close. Nick, Aaron and Zak where all getting themselves ready to leave. As Zak was putting his coat on, he looked down at his computer that he was about to shut down and saw a reply to the message he sent to Kate about setting up a meeting for tomorrow afternoon. He clicked on it and read through it:

"Dear sir or madam,

thank you for the time you took to read my application. I will be by the studio at the time given to me for the interview. Thank you for considering me for the position,

Sincerely, Kate Rowten"

"Huh, she responded pretty quickly. "He said to himself. He left his desk and told Nick and Aaron to be at work by two o clock to meet the girl. "I need both of you here by two so we all can decide if she is worth hiring." Zak ordered. "That's cool," Nick replied. "Alright! We get to work with a lady!" Aaron replied. With that said and done, they all left for home curious about the girl they where going to meet tomorrow.


	2. Meeting the GAC

Early the next morning around seven or so, Kate's eyes fluttered open after a long nights peaceful sleep. She lied there and took a minute to adjust her eyes to the bright California sun that was shining in through her window that was concealed by delicate purple curtains. She sat up and began to stretch her arms as she looked around the sunlit room. She looked down at her feet and saw her dog Lyra lying their sound asleep curled up in a little ball.

Lyra is a two year old Collie that Kate got as a Christmas gift from Logan when she was sixteen. Her coat is a light brown with white as it is the common color for most collies. Lyra was not only a Christmas gift, but also a comfort gift Logan gave her since she had decided to move to San Diego that next year to attend a college that offered her lessons in graphics and photography at an early age of seventeen. Lyra was also a very smart dog, and picked up on commands very quickly, but put her in a room with a small dog and get ready for some war!

Kate also brought Lyra with her to some of the haunted houses she sometimes visited if she was allowed inside. Lyra, since she was an animal and had gone often with Kate whenever she got the chance to, began to feel very sensitive towards the ghostly energies that where there. If there was a ghostly presence, she would always look in the direction she could see the entity without moving with eyes widened, and would pull her ears back beginning to bark and growl. She occasionally would even stand in front of her master as if she was trying to protect her from whatever was standing there if she felt it was a threat.

Kate pushed the covers off of herself and placed her feet on the cold wooden floor. The sensation of the coldness sent a cold rush up from her feet to her head. "I wish we had carpeted floors!" She thought as she made her way to the door. She opened the door and quietly left knowing that Lance was still asleep in his room. Lance never got up after eight thirty so he could have the bathroom to himself after Kate got in first. She opened the bathroom door and began to fill the tub with water. She shut the door and began to get herself ready for the day.

After about an hour getting ready that including bathing, dressing up and fixing her hair, she opened the bathroom door to leave and found Lance standing outside it holding his bath things and clothes. "Oh, I'm sorry Lance, was I in there to long?" She asked after realizing she lost track of time. "No, I just couldn't sleep and decided to get up and wait for you to get done," he replied with a smile. "Well, she's all yours, and there is still hot water for you too." "Thanks," She left the bathroom and headed back into her room to fix the bed. When she opened the door, Lyra came running out to see her. She jumped up and began to lick her face excited to see her master. Kate smiled and got on her knees to play with her dog. "Hey there girl, you hungry?" She said in a babyish tone. Lyra barked and licked her face in response as if she was saying "Yes!". "Alright, let's go then," she replied walking down the hallway for the kitchen with Lyra happily following from behind.

She opened the top cabinet and took out some crunchy dog food and her two food and water dishes. She took care to fill the water dish up with the right amount of food and water so her dog wouldn't get car sick. Because after breakfast, she needed to go to the groomers and get groomed. The last time she ate and road in the car after she had not yet digested the food ended up with the car seats needing to be cleaned. After filling the bowls, she placed them down beside the dining table so she could eat beside her masters feet. Lyra began to eat the food taking small lady like bites. Kate opened the fridge and took out some ingredients to make a waffle breakfast for both her and Lance. She placed all her ingredients on the kitchen counter beside the sink, and went to look for a bowl and mixing spoon.

The kitchen supplies where neatly organized since Lance was a very clean and organized person. The one policy he had when Kate moved in was for her to be extremely clean and follow his organization rules. Kate was naturally a clean and organized person since she had been raised that way, but Lance took clean and organization WAY over board and took it to far making it at times irritating. That was another reason why she wanted to live on her own! He also made it clear that her dog needed to be housebroken and well behaved if she was to live with him. Not only for his cleanliness sake, but also because he was allergic to animals, and dogs where one of the worst animals for his allergies.

After she found the mixing bowl and spoon, she went back to her work station and began to mix in the ingredients for the chocolate waffles she learned to make from her brother Mickey's own recipe. As she went along mixing in the mixture, Lance came walking out with a half smile on his face looking at her with a funny look in his eyes. She saw him standing at the kitchen entrance this way and asked, "why are you looking at me that way? What did I do?" "You didn't make up your bed this morning missy," he replied walking in with his morning paper in hand. "I'm sorry, Lyra was hungry and I guess I forgot," she replied. "I'll let it slide this once if your making your brothers famous triple chocolate waffles." He replied giving her a hug as she mixed in the batter. "Then I guess I'm off the hook then," she replied with a smile.

She got done mixing the ingredients and then realized she had no waffle iron. "Lance, where is the waffle iron? Don't tell me it's broken and in the repair shop again," she asked looking in the cup boards. "You won't find it there, it's in the dishwasher to be washed after I spilled tomato sauce on it yesterday trying to make lasagna." He replied. She looked at him like he was an idiot and ran over to the dishwasher. She took it out to find it still had it's cord on it. "Lance, you can't wash a waffle iron in the dishwasher, you'll electrocute yourself!" "How? It's not plugged in!" He replied as he thumbed through the pages of his paper. "Not in the dishwasher turned off you moron! When you plug it back into the wall. It isn't going to dry, and it will electrocute you and kill you! You might as well wash an electrical socket off with a sponge and soap while your at it!" She replied inspecting the iron. "You haven't washed it yet have you? Because if you did, then I'm about two minutes away from killing myself trying to make waffles." "It's fine, I was planning to wash it after breakfast," he replied halfway listening to her.

She plugged it into the wall, and began to pour in the mixture. "Alright, I'm alive and food is on the way," she said as she rotated the iron to cook each side evenly.

As she did this, Lance thumbed through the pages to try to find the sports section, and landed on a news paper article Kate sent one of her pictures in for. It was a story about a rich man who built himself with his own two hands a mansion in San Francisco. "Hey Kiddo, good job with your pic! It look's awesome!" He stated. "Yeah, I got only one hundred dollars for that though two days ago, now you see why I need a better job," she replied taking the cooked waffles out of the iron. "Are you excited for the interview this afternoon?" He asked with eagerness to eat the waffles. "Yeah, I thought about it all night and could barely sleep. I hope they all like me though," she replied while she served the waffles. "They will, why else have you come this far?" He replied as he began to eat his waffles. "I hope so," she replied taking a seat across from him."I know the experience I have had with paranormal study and actually investigating often, will get me good reviews with my new employer." She replied as she took a sip of her orange juice.

"Hey, you excited to meet Zak Bagans?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "Who's Zak Bagans? Remember Lance, I have never seen this show or know any of the investigators." She replied. "He's the cutest guy in the world! Were talking ripped body, ripped hair, manly voice, a cool attitude, and super funny!" He replied beginning to day dream. "I suppose he's the leader then, right?" She asked taking a bite of her waffle. "Yeah, how did ya guess?" "Because it sounds like he is the show off of the group." She replied. "No! He is not! He's been blessed by God! Guys can have perfect qualities and still be cool!" Lance replied in a defensive tone. "Sorry, didn't know you where in love with him," she replied in a joking tone.

She looked at the wall clock and saw it was eight forty five already! "Oh! Lyra has an appointment with the groomers!" She cried as she got up taking her plate to the sink. "Why are so worried about dog fur when you have an interview with an angel in a few hours to worry about?" Lance asked. "Lance, romance is not the reason why I am getting this job, and he probably has a girlfriend even if I was interested in him which I'm not since I don't even know him!" She replied placing her plate in the dishwasher. He doesn't have a girlfriend Kate, he's as single as they come!" He replied beginning to go off into another day dream. "Lance, with what you have told me about him and for him also being a celebrity, I highly doubt he is available." She replied picking up Lyra's empty bowls and washing them.

"Well whatever Kate, you can find out for yourself why I'm making such a fuss over him when you see him." Lance replied gulping down his cup of milk. "Do me a favor Lance, run to the store and pick up some more of Lyra's favorite food for me. I not only have her grooming session but a class at twelve to go to. Then I have to come back and clean myself up for the interview." She asked as she made her way down the hall. "Fine, but while your down there, clean up your room!" He replied getting up from the table with his plate in hand.

Kate made it to her room and found Lyra sitting in the corner chewing on a bone. She quickly made up her bed so Lance wouldn't have a fit, and got Lyra's collar on. She quickly grabbed her purse and book bag, along with her keys, and ran out the front door. She got to her car which wasn't anything special, it was just a typical generic car that was colored metallic blue, and placed Lyra in the backseat along with her big book bag. She got in the drivers seat and started up the engine. She pulled out of the parking lot quickly and headed down the sunny roads for the groomers. As they went down mulberry avenue, she began to wonder what the Ghost Adventures team was like. Even though Lance bragged on and on about one guy, she still wanted to know what the other two where like. "I hope none of them are womanizing jerks, or I'm not keeping this job." She declared. Lyra barked as if she was agreeing with her master. "Thank you girl, I'm not going to be like any other typical girl who will do anything for a cute guy, that's probably why I'm still single." It was going to take them about thirty minutes to get to the groomers office and while Lyra was getting her coat cleaned, Kate needed to head over to her class which was another thirty minutes away from the grooming parlor to take her graphics class. And also to inform her teachers that she found a job she was hoping to get.

Once they got there, Kate let Lyra out of the car and handed her over to a boy who was standing by outside to take her in. The parlor was pretty fancy to be a salon for dogs, but Lyra liked to be pampered like that. "I'll be back in a while! Hold onto her for me!" She said as she ran back to her car. She got back in her car and went down the road to get to her class.

At the entertainment way studios, the GAC crew where working hard figuring out where their next lock down should be. Zak was mainly in charge of this along with Nick. Aaron didn't get involved with any of the planning, just the filming. While Zak was busy on his computer and Nick hard at work in his office, Aaron was just now coming into work. He ran down the hallway and into the elevator pushing hardly and quickly on the ninth floor button. He was in a rush because of the fact that Kate was coming in for the interview in only two hours, and... he was late for work!

The doors opened and he ran down the hallway and tried to make it into his office without anybody noticing, but right as he ran by Zak's office, Zak came out grabbing him by the arm putting an end to his little race. "Aaron, dude, I told you to be in at nine! We have a lot of work we have to do, why are you late?" He asked in a serious tone. "Chill dude, I was caught in traffic," he replied. Zak, knowing this was obviously a lie since he always used it every time was late, decided to let it go." Just hurry up and go man, were busy," Aaron ran into his office and Zak went back into his.

Zak looked through books about haunted locations of the world to find the perfect place to go, as he did this, his cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket, and the screen read it was from Ashley his girlfriend. He answered the phone and put it on speaker phone. "Hey babe, what's up?" "Hey baby! Guess what?" She replied. "I'm coming back into town tomorrow afternoon! I can't wait to show you the pictures I took for the magazines!"

Ashley was Zak's longtime girlfriend of about three and a half years. She worked as a model for underwear, bathing suits that kind of thing. She was twenty three years old and stood at 6"0 about Zak's height. Her hair was blonde with brown highlights flowing through it and her eyes where dark blue. Her skin was light and she had a few freckles she covered with full face make-up. Things between Zak and her where getting serious, and with that being a reality, she became very defensive over him. She hated anybody who she thought was a threat to the relationship. Now, obviously, with all the media attention he got from teenage girls and young women alike, this was something she couldn't control, but she made it clear if anybody who was a girl got to close to him weather if it be a friend or co worker, she would pay!

She didn't share Zak's love for ghosts at all! She didn't believe in ghosts and thought the idea of their being a show based on paranormal phenomena where he was one of the main stars was stupid.

"Oh, your coming in tomorrow? I thought you where staying an extra week for the bathing suit shoot?" Zak replied sounding a little concerned. "No, I got it done early! Now we can see each other," she cooed. "Well, I have to go babe, got a applicant for that job coming in a few hours, really busy." "Okay, I love you honey!" "Love you too,"

He hung up his phone and realized that if he hired Kate, Ashley would have a major meltdown. "Great, just what I need is a cat fight!" He thought. He picked up his desk phone and called each of the guys in their office and said for them to meet him in the break room.

They met up in their break room and sat down to discuss the issues they where facing if they hired Kate. "Guys, I just realized something when I got done talking to Ashley a second ago." Zak said in a concerned tone. "What?" Nick asked. "If we hire this girl to work for us, she is going to have a meltdown." "don't tell her until she comes back next week, you'll have a whole seven days to think of a way to make it okay with her." Aaron suggested. "Can't, she's coming in tomorrow, which would be the day the girl would start working if we hire her." He replied with a feeling of stress coming over him. "I'm not going to turn this girl down if she can do what she says she can, she could be an awesome addition to the team." "Zak, we really don't need to worry about this until later, why don't we just worry about the interview and we'll go from their." Nick suggested. "How can I? I don't want to scare away a potentially good photographer all because of my girlfriends jealousy." "All your doing is getting worked up man, let's just do what Nick suggested." Aaron replied.

"You don't know Ashley like I do, and she's going to have a cow tomorrow." Zak replied shaking his head. "Don't let her come by then," Nick suggested. "She'll come no matter what I say, she'll just think I'm teasing and that I'm actually urging her to come." He replied. "What kind of relationship do you have with her dude?" Asked Aaron. "I need some suggestions here boys," Zak replied getting impatient. Nobody had a good suggestion for him even though they pondered through every idea that came to mind, that's how bad Ashley was to deal with. Zak, getting frustrated with not being able to come up with an idea, decided to just forget about it and focus on the interview like Nick suggested. Their talk lasted a good hour and it was an hour now before Kate was to come. "We better get ready for her now, she's coming in an hour! We sat here to long!" Zak said getting up along with Nick and Aaron. "Yeah, talking about your girlfriends psycho behavior!" Aaron replied with a laugh. Zak playfully punched his shoulder, and the three headed back to work before Kate showed up.

Kate got out of school about ten minutes after the guys stopped talking. She was late to pick Lyra up, and was afraid one of the workers where going to send her to the pound if they thought she abandoned her there. She ran out of her class room and dashed to her car that was parked in the worlds biggest parking lot of any school she had ever attended. She got in her car and shoved the key in the ignition pulling out smoothly and like a race car driver with great experience on the track. She sped through the parking lot that was not only big, but crammed in making it difficult to steer the car that was already low on gas. She figured if she could get to the groomers before one thirty, she could just go straight to the studio without stopping at home to fix herself up. It wasn't necessary for her to stop at home to get changed, what she was wearing was appropriate for any occasion. She just wanted to make sure she had nothing wrong with her appearance since she was applying for a job in the entertainment business. Plus, it was probably best not to go home and make a fuss over the appearance in front of Lance who was already having even higher hopes then her it seemed for her to get the job, in case she didn't get it. And she kept that a real possibility in her mind.

After going down fifth avenue, she ran into some lunch time traffic. She cussed in her head knowing she was going to be late for the interview if she didn't hurry. Then a thought occurred to her while she sat in the car impatiently awaiting the traffic light to turn green. "I can't take Lyra into the studio, she'll get kicked out!" With this thought now a great concern in her mind, she decided to try to call the grooming salon while the traffic was still as slow as a turtle trying to run from a predator. She dialed the number and got a woman on the phone who she knew, and was also a good friend of her's. "Sandy, it's Kate, I told you about the interview on the phone last night, and I'm kinda almost late for it now, could you please hold onto Lyra for me until three or so? I should be done by then," "Sure, but I want to be the first one you spill the news to if you get the job." She replied. "That's fine, thanks a million!" "No problem, good luck!"

Kate hung up her phone glad that Sandy was helping her since she was desperate for anything and anyone who could extend a hand to her. Sandy had always been a good friend to Kate in high school. She had a big interest in veterinary care, so she worked at a grooming salon to help her through vet school. Sandy had brown curly hair and green eyes. Her skin was pale but her cheeks where nice and rosy. Her boyfriend Bart always said she was his little English rose since she was born in England. Her English accent was a compliment to her appearance, but she dreaded the way her boyfriend would try to imitate it in public to try to be cute with her. She found it a little offensive if anything.

Knowing that Lyra was in good hands, she merged through the traffic to make a turn down a road that would take her to the studio faster. Maybe she could stop for gas if the short cut wasn't full of traffic, but in case of a pump leak, she didn't want to risk smelling like gasoline for her interview. She merged and actually got down the next street in a matter of seconds. She smiled with satisfaction. One thing she did think she should do if she wasn't going to stop for gas, was to at least stop at a restaurant and fix herself up in the bathroom. She was happy that she brought her make-up in her bag to touch up and her comb to fix any problem with her hair. There was nothing she could do about her outfit though, but what she wore wasn't anything that would get her accused of prostitution. A black blouse with a nice slit up one side of it and a low neck where her cross she wore could dangle on her olive skin, and a pair of dark blue jean shorts with black sandals with low heals to go with it. Her earrings where two silver hoops, but she did wear two studs in her second piercings she had right above the hoops. That to her was something she worried wouldn't look right, so taking them off was the first thing she figured she would do once she got somewhere to touch up. She found a diner with a seventies theme to it, and ran in without asking if she could use the bathroom without buying anything to eat. Of course, not knowing where the bathroom was in the place, she had to ask someone where the bathroom was and also had to buy a cookie for the information. "Money hungry sharks!" She cussed in her head as she busted the bathroom door open. She realized though that the door she just opened was the men's room door and found a man standing using a urinal. "I am so sorry!" She cried shutting the door before seeing anything she would regret. She found the women's room, and stood in front of the mirror that had a crack splitting down the center. "It'll do. Can't be picky." She figured. She inspected her face and found that her make-up needed some touching up, but her hair was just fine. "They either take me as I am or not at all. Only the heavens above know if I am meant to get this job." Those words she thought as she re applied her eye make-up and rubbed some lip gloss. Her eyes where a dark brown to blend into her skin, and her lips where only glossed with a shiny conditioning serum to help with some chapping problem she was having for the past few weeks.

Once finished, she double checked herself in the mirror and headed out the exit of the restaurant so fast she couldn't remember leaving the bathroom. She got back in her car and saw the radio clock said it was one forty. "Oh man, gotta run!" She said out loud as she sent her car down the main road leading to the studio.

With a few fancy turns and quick thinking, she managed to get to the studio with only minutes to spare Only getting lost for a short time. After going down the wrong road twice, she figured she needed to pay attention to the road sings instead of the clock that kept reminding her she was going to make a bad first impression. She got out of her car clenching her water bottle she bought while she was in the diner tightly from the nerves growing inside her. She stepped up to the twenty story building. The studio was built mainly for script writing, so she was surprised that the show was made there as well as written there. She walked in through the revolving door and found that the entire first floor was huge! People running into elevator's and running down hallways to get work done. "I hope the ninth floor isn't like this one," she thought. She found a receptionist who was motioning for her to come over. She wondered if she was informed of her coming, or if she stuck out like a soar thumb. Never the less, she kept that to herself and went over to the woman who's name tag read "Betty". "Hello, and welcome to entertainment way studio's, my name is Betty, and I have been expecting you." She said in a sweet and polite tone. Kate was actually waiting for some blunt question like: "Why are you in the building? No outsider allowed!" "Why are you standing around looking like a senseless moron?". But of course she was probably over exaggerating the whole thing a bit to much. Not all people in the entertainment business was loud and rude like they are portrayed in the movies.

"Yes, I have an interview scheduled on the ninth floor," Kate replied trying not to sound to nervous. "Well, I was told by the manager of that floor to tell you to go up to the third floor and go into a room with a number three outside on the door. You will be interviewed there." Betty replied handing her a map of the building. "The elevator is to your right miss, have a nice day!" Kate took the map from her and made her way to the elevator as quickly as she could, trying not to get run over by running people who where busy and not looking where they where going. She got inside it and pressed the third floor button hoping it would close fast enough before anybody else wanted a ride with her, she was almost late enough as it was. As the elevator went up, she noticed an electric clock up on the wall next to her and saw it was one minute past two. "I hope they aren't picky about that one minute," she thought knowing there was nothing she could do about it.

The GAC crew where sitting in the appointed office awaiting for the door to be opened. They still had some doubts about her and where hoping all this planning was worth it. Aaron had a big smile on his face excited with the idea of a girl working with them. Zak saw his expression and shoved him to knock him back into reality. "Dude, focus, I need all of you to focus so we don't make a wrong decision." "Sorry, I'm just trying to be a little optimistic about this," he replied trying not to make his real reason for smiling obvious. "Dude, your full of it." Nick replied trying not to do the same thing. "Hey, he's got a woman, I could get this one if I try hard enough!" Aaron replied. "Were not interviewing women for you to date Aaron, just focus a little on the realistic reason why she is coming." Zak replied. Aaron looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Your in a bad mood," he said in more serious tone. "That's because I still need to figure out what to do about Ashley tomorrow," he replied sounding even more serious. "Then let's get this over with so we can deal with that tomorrow," Nick said sharply to cease the brewing argument. There was not a word spoken from either the three of them for a couple of seconds until Aaron blurted out to lighten the mood, "Pretty lady!" That cracked a smile out of both Nick and Zak who both shoved him as he began to laugh from it. "Your hopeless man," Zak said in a happier tone.

When the doors opened, she unfolded the map and saw she was actually next to the room she needed to go into. She placed the map in her back pocket and walked up to the door that read "3" on it. She stopped outside the door and took in a deep breath trying to cease the fluttering butterflies that where flying around inside her. She took a big gulp of her water she was still carrying with her. "I wish I had brought some asprin!" She cussed in her head. She held an ear to the door and could hear men talking to each other but couldn't make out what they where saying. She realized at that moment this was the moment of truth, no turning back no running away unless she was a quitter which she obviously wasn't. She had been through enough tests in life to be ready for anything that was to come her way, but nothing could have ever prepared her for this! She took in a deep breath and knocked on the door loudly.

From inside the office, the guys stopped talking once they heard the door being knocked on. They all stared at the door and then at each other. "Nick, get the door." Zak said in a quieter tone. "Let's hope she didn't hear what we where saying," he added making them all uneasy. Nick got up and approached the door. He opened it up and saw her standing there with a nervous expression on her face. "Hi, I'm Kate Rowten, I'm here for the interview," she said sticking her hand out to shake his. "Hi, I'm Nick Groff, it's nice to meet you in person. Please come in and meet the others before we begin." He replied shaking her hand that was a little cold from her holding the chilly bottle of water. He stepped out of the way to let her in. The first thing her eyes caught was Zak who was now standing along with Aaron with their eyes fixed on her. This made her feel a little uncomfortable thinking now she either didn't dress right or she wasn't what they had expected. She walked up to the two of them who where a good six to seven inches taller then her making her feel even shorter then she was. "Hi," she said trying to break the silence. Aaron came up to her with a big smile on his face before Zak could say anything. "Hi, I'm Aaron Goodwin, it's nice to meet you miss Rowten." He said politely shaking her hand. "Hi Aaron, I'm Kate," she replied with a smile.

While they greeted each other, Zak couldn't help but stare at Kate with his mouth beginning to hang open. She wasn't what he expected her to be. "She's cute," he thought to himself. He imagined her to be more generic and more crazy about being there. But instead she acted with good manners and was very quiet, not to mention prettier then he imagined her to be. Then her eyes where fixed on him as she let go of Aaron's hand. He caught his mouth opening wider as her eyes made their way towards him and immediately shut it making a clicking sound with his teeth that echoed through the big almost empty room. Nick and Aaron where startled by the sound of his clanking teeth and looked towards him to see what he was doing. Kate looked up at him and realized this was the guy Lance was talking about. He wasn't what she was expecting him to be, a lot cuter then she imagined. "Wow, nice." she thought. After a second of staring blankly at her, he stuck a hand out almost hitting her chest by accident and said in a shy tone, "Hi, I'm Zak Bagans, I'm the one who sent you the e-mail yesterday." She nervously took his hand that felt warm to the touch and very strong. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Kate." She replied trying not to sound or look more nervous then she already was while shaking his hand. After he awkwardly shook her hand longer then welcomed, he quickly released his grip and replied this time trying not to sound so nervous, "please sit down across from me and we'll get started." She took his orders and sat down across from them.

The office wasn't very big, only being about forty feet long and it only had in it a few tables with black lamps sitting on them giving dim light, and a window that was behind Nick's head. There was no desk, just four plastic chairs and small table that sat in between them for beverages. Kate sat on the end that was closest to the door, and Zak and his crew sat across from her. Him in the middle, and Nick and Aaron to either side of him. Zak had in his hands his clip board with the questions he prepared to ask her and some of them where vital and important for her chances of getting this job she was now REALLY hoping she could get after getting a good look at her boss.

Zak cleared his throat before speaking so he wouldn't sound nervous in his voice. "Okay, well, the first thing I would like to know is where did or do you go to school?"

"I go to Palm Leaf College of Photography and Graphics, and I am now going into my sophomore year," she replied in a serious and to her surprise, an unnervous tone.

"What kind of training have you had so far?" "I have had training on taking professional photo's and I even have my own professional camera. I have also, and am still, taking some graphics classes and have gotten straight A's for every test I have taken on them." she replied hoping it didn't sound like she was trying to brag. "Have you had any outside of the classroom experiences with these things?" "Yes, I work for a newspaper sometimes and send in some pictures for the articles. I have also sent in pictures for some science magazines, and some paranormal phenomena websites." the guys where impressed to hear she had experience with the supernatural. They weren't expecting that. "Have you had any experience with graphics?" "Yes, I have looked at pictures from some of the editors I work with, and have analyzed many things in them, like certain creatures or objects that may be hard to see and identify due to the quality of the picture or video, and I have been able to analyze photo shopped pictures and double exposures."

It was hard for them to believe she was able to analyze pictures so well, so they decided to see if she was lying about that. Zak sent Aaron to go get a picture they received from someone, and had sent to an expert to see if it was a fake. They wanted to see if she could tell if it was also a fake one. He also sent him to get a real one they received to see if she could spot the ghost in it. He came back in with the two pictures and placed them on the table for her to view. She looked down at them and then at Zak wondering what they where for. "What is all this?" She asked in a confused tone. "I want to see if you really can tell the difference between real and fake pictures." He replied. "One picture is fake, and the other is real. If you can tell us which is which, that would be good for your score." "Score?" She asked looking puzzled. "It's our little point board we have up in our minds for you." Nick replied. She looked down at each photo and carefully picked up the first one that looked very old and dusty. She held it up to the light and carefully inspected it's elements.

The first picture she was holding was of a big library room. The room had many brightly colored books on it's shelves and had also many desks for reading. Now, to the right of the picture right where the light from the lamp that stood to the left was dimmer, she noticed a tall lean male figure standing by one of the bookcases apparently holding a book. Now, what was odd about this picture to her, was that it looked like it had an orb you could barely see floating right above it, but that wasn't the odd part of it, it was the fact that the figure itself, looked very transparent and almost not there. It was difficult to make out because of the picture quality, she figured it was probably taken back in the early forties when there where a lot more black and white photo's.

She put that picture down and picked up the other one that was much newer. The guys sat there and watched her eager to see what she was going to say to them.

The next photo she was holding was of a dining room in a finely furnished house. The house looked as if it belonged to a person who had lots of money and fame. Almost something you would see in L.A or in the Hampton's. The picture had in it a dining room table with chairs, and behind it a big window looking out towards the night time sky, and a hutch that held fine china. The room was brightly lit from the chandelier that hung above the table, but the picture was actually looking like the light was being shaded the more she looked at it. The paranormal element in this picture was right in front of her very eyes. The picture looked faded because of a transparent face that was apparently looking directly at the camera up close. She could make out the eyes and the nose and the mouth very easily,... almost to easily.

With a conclusion that came to her after looking at the two pictures, she placed the last picture back on the table and smiled.

The guys didn't know what to say, she had said nothing to them after viewing each picture, "did we catch her in a lie?" They wondered. They didn't hesitate any longer and all three of them asked at the same time, "do you know which one is which?" She knew what they where thinking and why they where testing her. There was no quote "Score board", they where keeping inside themselves, they where testing her to see if she was lying about all her experience she had with photography and graphics. She looked at their gazing eyes just fixed on her ready to hear her answers she had for them. She took in a deep breath and began to explain the properties of each picture to them:

"The first one I looked at was an old and dusty picture and from what it looked like to me, was taken back in the forties or around that time. It didn't have much light in it not only because it was taken in a dim library, but also because of the camera quality. So that makes it hard to tell if it's truly authentic or not. Now the second one, was much newer and taken with a camera that uses film. The room was brightly lit, but the light seemed to disappear the more you looked at it."

She took in a deep breath and continued with her answers:

"To answer the question as to which one is the real one and which the fake, I'll tell you. The second picture was for sure to me the real one until I saw the way the face looked. Sure, it was transparent, but did you ever look at how the face was looking at the camera? The face was of a man obviously, and was wearing glasses. The first thing I noticed bizarre about the face, was that it looked like it was posing for a picture. Since you guys are experts in paranormal phenomena, how many ghosts are going to pose for a picture? This picture was obviously a double exposure and whoever decided to send it in didn't realize how obviously it would look fake to someone who knows about pictures."

She took in one last deep breath and continued with the last of her discourse:

"The older photograph has in the far right corner of the room a figure standing holding a book. You can tell it's the real one due to the elements in the photo. First of all, the ghost isn't obviously seen. It took my eyes a minute to see what was paranormal about it before noticing the figure standing in the corner with the book. It's almost like a shadow but obviously it isn't because if there was anything standing in the right corner of the room, a shadow wouldn't be casted since the light that is to the far left of the room, isn't bright enough to fill in the right corner and cast any sort of shadow because even the chair to the right of the room you see before the figure isn't even casting a shadow and it should since it's there in plain sight. The last paranormal element in the picture was the light orb right above the figure. It's floating right where the head should be. There is no other light in the room as far as I could see, and it's the same story with the one to the left, not bright enough to fill in the room and not enough to shine into any sort of mirror or anything that reflects to cause there to be light orbs floating around."

After she finished, she picked up her bottle of water that sat on the table and began to drink exhausted from all the talking she just did.

The guys couldn't believe what they just heard come out of her mouth. Not only did she pick out the right pictures, but she was pointing things out like a professional being very detailed with what she saw. And that's not the only thing that surprised them, in the old photograph of the library, they never knew that light orb was there! Not even the expert they sent the photo to could see it, how could she? Nick picked the picture up and he along with the rest of the guys stared at where she said it was. It took a minute but they could see it plain as day! They looked back at her with amazement in their eyes. "Well done!" Aaron cried happily. "That's... amazing!" Nick gasped. "Good job," Zak said in a surprised tone.

Kate blushed feeling overwhelmed by how they where reacting. "I told you I had the experience,"she replied.

It was no longer needed to question her now, they told her to sit outside on a chair and wait for them to get back to her while they discussed the issue to each other. She sat outside with nerves and eagerness overwhelming her. "I wonder what they're going to say," she wondered. It almost killed her to have to wait, but it was better knowing the answer was coming that day so she wouldn't have to sleep that night wondering what they where going to do with her.

Inside the office, the guys began to talk about Kate's experiences. Zak paced the floor while Nick and Aaron where still seated in their original spots. "Alright, what do you guys think?" Zak asked looking sharply at his friends who where looking back at him with grins on their faces. He wondered why they where looking at him so weirdly. "What?" He asked. "Zak, you where drooling the whole time she was in here." Nick replied. "Looks like Aaron isn't the only one who thinks she's cute!" Zak jumped when he heard what they said and replied trying not to sound guilty of his thoughts, "guys! I don't think any of that! Did you not see what she just did?" "Yeah, it was awesome!" Aaron replied. "She really knows her stuff, we didn't even know that ball of light was there in the library picture." Nick added. "And did you see how she explained every detail? She sounded so professional." Said Zak still amazed.

"She would be a perfect member of the actual GAC crew too, you know." Said Nick. Then Zak remembered her saying briefly that she had experience with ghost hunting, and wanted to dig deeper into that. "Do you really think she could?" Asked Zak. Both Nick and Aaron nodded in agreement.

Originally, they just wanted to hire a photo expert to just review their evidence after a lock down, not actually go with them. But there was something different about her, they thought she could be not only a good helpful edition to the team, but also very interesting to have as a new team member able to bring in all kinds of new elements they needed... and wanted. Without thinking anymore about it, they had their answer they all agreed upon.

Kate waited outside wondering why it was taking so long. Thoughts of how she could have messed up the interview came into her mind as she replayed the whole thing again in her mind over and over again. "It was when I babbled on and on! Or it was when I looked like I was bragging! They thought I was lying to them the whole time!... I'm babbling again!" She calmed herself by taking another sip of her water. She figured if it wasn't meant to be then she wouldn't get the job no matter how good or bad she did. While thinking this, the door opened with Nick standing in the entrance of it. "Come on back in, we want to talk with you some more." He said with a smile. She stood up and walked back into the room. And as he shut the door, she wondered, "did I get the job?"


	3. Did I get the job?

Chapter three

Nervous thoughts began to fill Kate's mind as she walked into the office with her eyes on Zak and Aaron who where seated in their original spots as before. Nick motioned for her to sit once more as he sat back down beside his friends. She sat back down on the now bitterly cold chair that was just warm enough to lounge on all day moments ago. She wished now that there was a big desk to divide them now so she could cross her fingers and legs for good luck, and to relieve the nerves she had brewing even more inside her without them noticing. She did the best she could to maintain a straight face as she waited anxiously for one of them to start speaking. She wanted so much for this day to be over and done with, it was so overwhelming but luckily an answer was only moments away.

Zak cleared his throat again to stop his voice from sounding like a shy child's, and began to give her the answer she was longing to hear for a long time, "Miss Rowten, we've thought long and hard about this, and we have to say, what you showed us a while ago was absolutely,... amazing." She gasped hearing him say her experience was actually impressive to the point of amazing. "Well, it's nothing special sir, it's just what I've been taught." She replied in a shy tone feeling a bit flustered. "Well we've never seen or met anybody with your kind of talent." Nick replied. "Awesome!" Aaron cried with a thumbs up.

"But before we go on with our answer as to weather or not you have the job, we would like to ask you, what kind of experience have you had with the paranormal?" Zak asked, holding his clip board with more questions he had written down just moments ago. "Well, I have walked around this one haunted place in San Francisco, and I have gone almost weekly to two other houses in San Diego. I have seen and heard things, and even have felt things as I was on these locations." "Have you ever used equipment to sense or detect a spirit?" Asked Aaron. "No, but I am aware of what EVP recorders are used for, and EMF detectors, but anything else that may be more new and high tech I wouldn't." She replied. "Is there any reason why I am being asked these questions?"

"Well to be honest miss, We think you might have what it takes to be apart of our group." Zak replied. Kate was almost laughing at his last words he spoke. She couldn't believe or even thought it would be possible for her to be apart of a ghost hunting group. In between thoughts of laughter trying to over take her body, she managed to ask, "your kidding... right?" The guys shook their heads in reply. Her eyes became wide and her heart almost stopped beating. "No way," she said in a quieter tone. She looked at them with a more serious look on her face trying to hide the excitement brewing up inside her. "Does this mean I have the job?" She asked. Zak, Nick and Aaron all smiled at her and nodded their heads.

The excitement was almost to much she almost screamed, but she didn't want to look like a silly fan girl. "This can't be happening!" She screamed in her mind. Interrupting her thoughts by her expressions she was making, Zak stuck a hand out to shake her's, "congratulations miss Rowten, we want you to start tomorrow," he said with a dashing smile on his face. She stood up and shook his hand along with Nick and Aaron's. "Thank you so much this was a pleasure!" She said trying not to sound excited. "Be in tomorrow at eleven thirty, and we'll give you a tour of the building and floor. We'll also get you familiar with your job and what we do off camera." Zak instructed. She nodded her head and picked up her bag she had sitting beside her on the floor. "Thank you, and I will see you gentlemen tomorrow." She replied as she left the office.

Once gone, the guys all gave each other high fives happy that they found not only a new photo expert, but also a new teammate. "Good job guys, everyone did good professional job." Said Nick with satisfaction in his voice. "Yeah, and Zak has a new girlfriend to!" Aaron replied laughing. "I don't like her, but I am interested to see how she will handle one of our lock downs." Zak replied with an interested look on his face. "Yeah, I wonder if she's the screaming type or crying type." Aaron replied. "I hope neither," Nick replied. Nick and Aaron decided to go on their breaks, while Zak decided to go back to his office to work.

Nick and Aaron left the building to eat at a restaurant for their break. They didn't take their car since the place they where going to eat at was only across the street. As they walked out of the building, Aaron couldn't help himself but to make comments about Zak, "I know he was lying to us about the way he was looking at Kate, he was checking her out no doubt dude." Nick nodded his head in agreement, as he placed his sunglasses on his eyes. "Yeah, you could tell when she first came in that he was as nervous like a kid going on his first date." He replied. "What do you think Ashley will do if she finds out that Kate's gonna be apart of the GAC?" Asked Aaron, as he and Nick began to cross the busy street. "I don't know, anything is possible with that woman." Replied Nick. The two got inside the restaurant and sat down waiting for their waitress to come over and serve them. They continued their discussion after she came over and took their orders.

"Compared to Ashley, Kate was not what I expected. I expected a screaming girl drooling over Zak, but instead, she was calm, collected, polite, charming, spoke professionally and acted mature." Said Nick, taking a sip of water the waitress left him. "That's probably why Zak liked her since she isn't that way." Aaron replied. Nick looked over at Aaron with a smirk on his face, and a raise of his brow. "Don't you like her too?" He asked with a suspicious tone. Aaron began to smile and chuckle as he replied, "she was cute!" Nick smiled and laughed along with him. "Don't you?" "Yeah, I think she's cute, she had a really nice personality, that I thought was very attractive for her age." "Zak won't like us talking about his girlfriend like this!" Aaron joked. "Even if he did like her, he would never admit it to us unless we caught him in a lie." Nick stated. "I just hope she has what it takes to be a member of the group." He added.

Zak was sitting at his desk hard at work. He tried to focus his attention on preparing the next lock down, and not on the new team member that was coming in tomorrow, but the only thing he could hear from since Kate had come in until that point, was his heavily beating heart. His mind then began to drift off back to that smile she had when she first came in, and those big brown eyes that looked up at him. More and more he drifted back to every gesture she made with her hands, and the way her voice sounded when she spoke. His heart sank with every word she spoke to him directly. He drifted back to the smell of her perfume. It smelled of roses and lilies making her appearance even more beautiful to him. There was so much more he could think about, he could have sat there all day and drifted back to when she first touched his hand, and how that sent heat through out his entire body, making him break into a cold sweat and a series of heat flashes. That was the most intense moment for him was when he got to touch her, and how she welcomed the second time he reached his hand out to touch her's.

By now, his eyes where closed as he day dreamed, but the sound of his cell phone ringing woke him back into reality. He picked the phone up and saw it was Ashley, the girlfriend he now remembered he had. He hesitated to answer the phone after what he had just experienced, but he needed to speak with her or she would be angry if he didn't answer he call. She always had gotten upset if he didn't answer the phone when she knew he was available to talk, and she knew when, because she memorized his work schedule. He answered the phone and managed to say hello without sounding suspicious. "Hey baby, just wanted to check in with you, how was the interview?" She asked. Then Zak remembered that she was coming in tomorrow, the same day Kate was scheduled to start working. He couldn't believe he had forgotten that! "Stupid Zak, stupid!" He cussed in his head. "Hello?" Ashley said wondering why Zak wasn't answering her question. He brought himself to answering her question before the silence got her suspicious, "it went well, I hired the applicant and they will start working tomorrow." He didn't want to say "her" or "he", because if he said he, it would be obviously a lie to Ashley when she walks in to find a girl, and he didn't want to say "her," because then she would explode on the phone, and he would have no way to calm her down. "That's great! I will meet them tomorrow when I come by to visit!" She cried with excitement.

Zak decided to try to stop her from coming, by coming up with reasons why she shouldn't come. To maybe buy him some time so he could figure out how to handle the situation. "Babe, why don't you come by on Saturday? I mean, with the new worker and all needing training, it will be hard for me to appreciate your company while I deal with the newbie." He suggested hoping it would convince her not to come. But Ashley, like always, went straight to the water works if she didn't get what she wanted from him. "But,... I want to see... you!" She said sadly as she got herself to cry. Zak was a sucker for crying, especially Ashley who got under his skin and tugged at his heart strings. He immediately consoled her and said, "Baby, baby, I'm sorry, you can... come tomorrow." She began to scream with excitement. "Thank you Zak, I love you! I will see you tomorrow!" She cried happily. He couldn't say anything in return before she hung the phone up on him. She normally does this whenever she's satisfied with getting her way. "Great," Zak said in a stressed out tone. "How do I fix this?" Then his mind began to drift back to Kate again, but this time, he stopped himself. "No! I have a girlfriend! I am not attracted to this girl. I vow not to become attracted to her!" He cried in his head. Zak was a stubborn guy and when he said he was going to do something, he meant it. But this was something he couldn't block out easily.

For a long time, he struggled with relationships, and when he met Ashley, it just clicked for him. She, compared to some of the other girls he went out with, was believe it or not, less crazy then them. Just by thinking Kate was pretty made him feel like he was cheating on her, and that wasn't the kind of guy he was, or was planning to be. He started to think about all the good times he had with Ashley, in between her crazy jealousy moments. The times she made him laugh, the places he took her where they built memories, and all the romantic things they did together to maintain their relationship. He wasn't about to give up on a good relationship that could eventually lead up to marriage, for a slight attraction to a girl much younger then him. He was twenty eight years old, while Ashley was twenty three, and Kate was only eighteen. Legal, but what interest would an eighteen year old have in a man who was almost going into his early thirties?

With all this in his mind, and the love he had for Ashley in his heart, he figured whatever attraction he had to Kate would soon fade. The relationship lasting long for three years couldn't be ruined by the hundreds of pretty faces he had seen before, and this one to him, was going to be no different. "I will be a good boss, and colleague, and I'll be a friend, but nothing more." He declared. He figured it was nerves building up that made him jumpy, and act weird around her. "I'm just nervous about tomorrow, and it's coming out in these weird ways. I just need to focus on work today." With this said, he went back to planning the next lock down, without thinking another thought about his situation.

Kate got into her car and sat in the parking lot of the studio for a good twenty minutes, to calm herself of the shock and excitement of getting the job, she thought was impossible. "I can't believe it!" She cried. "I'm in! I'm actually in!" Not only did a great weight get lifted off her shoulders, but a dream of her's came true. Taking pictures of ghosts and paranormal phenomena, was something she could picture herself doing for the rest of her life happily. That is, if her family wasn't going to give her grief about it. The news for her, was a hard enough pill to swallow, she couldn't imagine telling anybody in her family about it now, but before she got on TV, she knew she would have too. Being involved with paranormal phenomena was a dream come true! Her heart raced as she took in deep breaths to calm down. "I can't wait to tell Lance I got the job!" Then she remembered she had to go pick up Lyra from Sandy. She turned her car on and hurried as fast as she could to Sandy's. Not only to get Lyra back from her, but to also tell her the news since she had promised she would be the first to know what happened.

After picking up Lyra, and giving Sandy a fully detailed story, she was on her way back home to tell Lance. Lyra barked and wagged her tail licking her owners face as if she knew what had happened. When they reached a red light, Kate leaned over to Lyra and stroked her head. "I know girl, mommy has a new awesome job!" She exclaimed, taking her foot off the break and placing it on the gas. Once they got home, she could already see Lance standing in the apartment complex parking lot, eager to hear the news. She parked the car in it's usual spot, and came out with Lyra happily following from behind. She walked over to Lance briskly as he did the same. The look of hope was gleaming in his eyes as excitement brewed within him. It was like he was living though her in a way. He couldn't ever do anything with the paranormal, since he was down right terrified at the thought of dead peoples souls lurking about in old creepy houses.

She decided to play a little trick on him to tease, so she began to frown and slow her pace as she got closer to him. The smile that once took up his entire face practically, was now going down to a half, and then a frown. He worried that maybe she didn't get the job, and that he got her hopes up for nothing. "This isn't looking good!" He thought. When she got to him, she looked up at him and sighed with sadness coming over more in her expressions. Kate could have been an actress if she wanted to, she got away with pranks on her friends and her brothers. She always made it seem like what she was pretending was actually happening. Some of the jokes she played, though, where not things she liked to remember, since the reactions she received where anything but a laugh or a well played joke on somebody, but Lance was forgiving and not to mention gullible. Lance asked with the pains of having to wait what she would say, said in a now panicked tone, "did you get the job sweetheart?" She managed to keep a straight face even though a grin was coming. "I need to go inside," she replied in a depressing tone, as she walked briskly back inside like she was going off to cry in her room. Lance panicked even more now, and began to blame himself for her disappointment. "No!" He cried inside himself. He ran in after her and caught her in the kitchen getting a bottle of water from their fridge. She took slow sips and sighed deeply in between sips to make her look drained and depressed. Lance went into the kitchen with wide eyes and a hand to his mouth, nervously ready to ask if she had gotten the job or not.

"Kate, what happened? Did you get the job?" He asked. Her eyes locked on him and the sadness quickly became anger. "Why must you ask me now? I had a hard and busy day, can I not have a drink without you getting in my space the minute I return?" She cried almost sending him into panic. "i take this on myself for you not getting the job!" He replied getting teary eyed. "I'm so sorry I got your hopes up for fame, good money, and a hot boss! Now, I'm going to self punish myself for a long time until you forgive me!" She figured he had suffered enough with the joke, and knew he wouldn't be happy if she carried it further. She placed the bottle of water on the counter and slowly walked over to him with her eyes still full of fake rage. He wondered what she was going to do once she came over, and kept himself ready to run out the back door if she attacked him. "You shouldn't be blaming yourself for anything," she replied, in a serious tone beginning to lighten up. "Because,... I got the job!" He almost slapped himself in the face for believing one of her jokes again, but that would have to wait for after they celebrated. The two embraced each other and began to laugh and cheer from happiness. "I hate you!" He cried, in a happy tone as he hugged her tightly. "I was going to kill myself for what I thought I put you through!" "Don't have to now," She replied letting go of him.

They sat down at the kitchen table, and she began to tell him about her interview and what she had thought about each member of the GAC. After he heard the whole story, he began to pour questions onto her as she went back to the kitchen for her bottle of water for a drink.

"Are you serious that they want you to be apart of their group?" He asked in a surprised tone.

"Yeah, can you believe it?" She replied taking a drink, and leaning on the counter with an elbow. Lance sat down on one of the bar stools across from her, to ask more questions.

"What where the guys like in person?" "I have never seen them before on TV Lance, so I can only tell you compared to what you have told me, really cool. I will have to work with them for a while and see how they are, but they acted like nice polite gentlemen." "Wasn't I right about Zak? Isn't he a doll!" Kate felt a blush come over her cheeks as she answered his question, "I have to say Lance, he was very handsome up close, but he was also very quiet when he wasn't talking." "Did you like him?" Asked Lance with an eyebrow raised with suspicion. "Yeah, he's cool," she replied almost shyly. Lance could tell by the way she looked that she thought more about Zak then she let on, but he wanted her to tell him that he was right. "Was I right then?" She waited a moment to reply knowing he wanted the satisfaction of being right. She thought of lying, but figured if she developed a crush on him he would find out anyway. A little bit of a satisfaction celebration was okay then later on having him gloat for weeks about being right. She replied with a little bliss in her voice, "yes Lance, you where right, he's very handsome." Lance began to laugh and cheer happy she admitted he was right. "Yes! I told you! " He cheered happily. After a few minutes of gloating about how right he was, he wanted to take her out for a celebration dinner. "You must be exhausted, but you better have energy to go out tonight and celebrate!" He cried. She smiled and went over to give him another hug. "Thanks for the support Lance, I needed it!" "Your very welcome," he replied giving her a peck on the cheek. They headed out the front door and took Lyra with them to celebrate Kate's big accomplishment. She made it clear, though, that she needed to be in bed early so she could get to work early that next day. So Lance only took her to a local restaurant they wouldn't normally be able to eat at due to high prices, for her celebration dinner. An occasion like this deserved something above order in Chinese food.

After stuffing their faces in, Lance and Kate returned home and immediately, she sent herself to bed at nine thirty. As she lied in bed with Lyra again at her feet, she drifted off into a sleepy doze as she looked up at the roof. She couldn't stop thinking about how her first day on the job would be, and she wasn't ready for what tomorrow had in store for her. She turned her light off after she read her bible, and fell asleep.


	4. The great race

Chapter four

Lyra, sitting happily on the floor by Kate's bed, was waiting patiently for her master to wake up and feed her. Kate sat up rubbing her eyes and brushing her fingers through her hair, to fix the frizz she got as she slept through the night. She looked at her clock that read nine o clock. She then looked down at Lyra and could see her wagging her tail and panting. She leaned down and began to stroke her head. "I know what you want," she said in a sleepy tone. "You want food, but Lance is going to have to feed you this morning since I have to get to work early." She placed her feet on the wooden floor this time ignoring the annoyingly cold sensation she always got from it, and hurried out the door to find Lance.

He was making toast for his breakfast peacefully in the kitchen as he listened to the radio. Every Wednesday, his favorite radio show came on called: " the best thing on the radio." It was a show that covered many subjects, those including: pop culture, most talked about news stories, Television, music, movies, finance (not his favorite topic), environmentalism, politics (again, not a favorite), and celebrity news and gossip. Lance mainly listened to the celebrity gossip, since he was a chatty person who loved to hear about all the lies and non lies of Hollywood. He turned the sound knob up on his radio, so he could hear the radio host talk about the latest issues going on with one of his favorite soap opera star, Brock Cratz. "And Brock has done it again ladies and gentlemen!" The host cried, with enthusiasm that was almost impossible for anyone to have at nine o clock on a Wednesday morning. "Brock has finally decided to marry his long time girlfriend super model, Lara Stance! All the details when we come back to the best thing on the radio! Don't go away!" "No! Lance cried, as if he was talking to the man on the radio show. "I need to know what happened during the proposal!"

Kate then came walking in with her robe on and Lyra close behind. She looked stressed and tired as she approached Lance who was still screaming at the radio. "Why are you screaming at an electrical box?" She asked looking at him like he was a nut job. "I need to know what happened to Brock and Lara!" He replied shaking the radio. "Do me a favor, feed Lyra for me this morning, I need to get ready for work now." She waited for a response, but all she got in return was utter silence, and Lance looking down at his feet, not willing to look at her and tell her he forgot to but Lyra's food yesterday. "Why are you so silent? Please Lance, I need the help." He knew she would be furious, but he told her how he forgot to buy the food yesterday. "I asked you to buy the food at the store Lance!" She cried with more stress coming onto her. "I'm sorry!" He cried. "What on earth where you doing all day yesterday while I was out?" "I was watching ghost adventures, I guess I forgot." He replied in a nervous tone. "Well they're going to fire me if I'm not in by eleven thirty!" She grabbed Lyra by the collar and began to guide her down the hallway for her bedroom. She shut her up giving her a squeaky toy for amusement, and hurried into the bathroom to take a shower.

Now she had not only work to get to, but now, she had to go get Lyra some food skipping her own meal. Getting ready for the day already takes an hour for her, which is quicker then how long it takes most of her girlfriends and even Lance, but that left only an hour and a half for her to get all her errands done and get to work on time. Luckily, she picked out her clothes for that day, before she went to bed last night so she could dress nicely for work. She put on a black blouse with long sleeves, and a pair of jean shorts she paired with sandals with two inch heels. She put her hair up in a little bun, leaving her bangs the way they where since she liked the mature look it gave her, and the only jewelry she wore was a silver cross, and a pair of hoop earrings.

She hurried back into her room and grabbed Lyra, her leash, and her bag with her car keys in it. She didn't bother trying to make the bed up, there was simply no time, and that was payback to Lance. She ran down the hallway and into the kitchen passing by Lance who was standing by the sink listening to his radio show. She opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, and took a candy bar out of a jar that sat on one of the counter tops. She hit Lance on the shoulder with a fist making him yelp by the surprise. He looked at her ready to say something, but stopped when he saw how stressed out she looked, and how angry she was at him. "Thanks a lot for not helping me this morning Lance, and out of all the days this could have happened, you chose today!" She cried, as she began to put Lyra's leash on. "Sorry, I didn't think it would stress you out this bad!" He replied. "That's a stupid reply! Is that all you have to say?" He stayed silent hoping she would calm down, and she did after that brief moment of explosion. She said in an now more relaxed and calmer voice, "I am going to run down to the nearest store, and get her some food, but when I come back, you need to feed her! If I come home tonight and find out she went all day without food, I'll be angry!" He simply replied, thankful she didn't scream those orders at him, "message received," She ran out the front door with Lyra close behind and ran down the sidewalk for the nearest store, since it was only a few blocks away behind the apartment complex.

She almost busted through the automatic doors of the store, if they hadn't opened up in time for her to run in and tear the floors up running to get the pet food. She made it down the pet supply aisle almost running over a kid, and grabbed the first bag of dog food she could see that Lyra would eat. Running back to the front to check out, she almost ran into a woman pushing a cart, making her baby come flying out of it's carrier, but she managed to dodge everyone that where standing in her path of panic and rush. She saw once she made it to the check out lanes, that none where going to be available for a while, due to long lines. "Ten minutes!" She cried in her head, fearing that's how long it was going to take. It was already ten twenty five, and she wasn't even out of the store yet. She scanned around with her eyes looking for the fastest lane, she found one, and beat an old man, his wife, and a few teenaged boys to it. Ahead of her where about two big families of about six each at least, and a few bachelors buying liquor and instant popcorn. The line, after she had gotten in it, was now going slower. "Irritating!" She screamed in her head. The families up ahead where taking their sweet time placing their groceries on the conveyor belt. Their children where the ones placing the groceries on the conveyor belt, and all six of them where from youngest to oldest, four to eleven. This would have looked cute for her, but she was in a hurry, and the longer it took for the people to move, the closer she was to losing her dream job. She looked up at a clock that hung over the automatic doors, and to her horror, read, 10:35. "No!" She screamed, making the people in line stare at her. She saw them staring, and screamed in anger, "you people are moving like turtles!"

She ran out of the line figuring now, she had no way to feed Lyra, the look on her dogs face as she smelled the bag of food Kate was still holding, brought guilt to her owners heart. "Man! How am I going to feed you? She cried. Then she remembered there was a store next door, that had short lines to wait in, but here's the problem, they didn't sell dog food! "Curses!" She cried clenching the food and Lyra's leash. The clock face now read 10:40, forcing Kate to make an extreme decision that anyone reading this, should never try under any circumstances. With her idea in mind, she slowly with caution began to make her way towards the exit doors. She took care to make sure no one could see that she was leaving without paying for the food. She knew as she got closer to the exit, that the alarms where going to go off once she stepped through, and that's when she figured she would start running. Once she got through, someone who worked at the store, noticed her walking out and made his way over to her to see if she had a receipt. She looked out of the corner of her eye at him, and saw he was moving fast, so she moved faster. "Miss!" He cried to get her attention. He got it, but she wasn't planning on stopping. "Miss, did you pay for that?" That's when she broke out in a fast paced run with Lyra right behind. "Hey! Come back!" The man called running after her. She turned the right corner and could see the drug store only about forty feet away. She ran as fast as she could and glanced back occasionally to see if she was being followed. In desperate times like this, she was able to move in high heels, like wild horses running away from a predator. She ran into the drug store and made it to an open lane. She placed the bag of food on the counter and looked up at the check out lady. The woman stared at her and then the bag, and said in a confused tone, "Miss, where did you get that food? We don't sell dog food here." "The store next door, scan the food, and give the store next door the money." Kate replied getting impatient. The woman looked at her wondering if she was crazy, confused, or something worse, and picked up a phone sitting by the cash register, to call her manager. Kate reached into her purse and took out ten dollars, which was the unit price on the food and placed it on the counter. "Here, take this, and give it to the store next door!" She cried, picking up the food, and running out the exit before the woman could protest.

She ran down the sidewalk for the apartment complex carrying the ten pound bag of food under her arm, and once there, she tried to open the front door, but it was locked. She began to bang on the door to get Lance to come over and let her in, but he was in the kitchen listening to his ipod, on full blast volume. She screamed a cuss word in her head, and decided to run around the back, where the glass door was, and get in that way. She ran around the back with Lyra in one hand, and the ten pound bag of dog food in the other, and managed to open the heavily locked gate door. She ran around the side and up the porch. She looked in and could see Lance dancing like Beyonce, to her hit "single ladies". She knew he wouldn't hear her, and decided to try to squeeze it through the door crack, they usually had for the air conditioner to work it's best. She managed to slide the partially locked door open, and began to squeeze herself, and Lyra through.

Lance, twirling around, opened his shut eyes as his face passed by the back where the glass door was, and saw Kate coming in holding a heavy bag. He gasped and ran over to help her in. "Are you okay? Why are you coming in through the back door?" He asked as he took the heavy bag from her. She looked up at him, face covered with sweat, make-up running, and with absolute RAGE in her eyes. "Why didn't you open the dang door when I knocked on it!" She screamed. "I didn't hear it, I'm sorry," he replied in a scared voice. "Your just trying to make my day harder, aren't you?" She came in, and helped Lyra in. She handed Lance her leash and gave him a stern look before saying in an irritated tone, "feed her, since I had to run down the street and practically steal dog food!" "Steal?" He asked confused, "what do you mean?" "I took it out of the store, and ran down the sidewalk for the drug store, and tried to pay for it there, but they said no, so I left them ten bucks to give the store I got the food from, and ran back here." She took a sip of water after she finished explaining to him what had happened. "You know, I could have gone down there myself for you and gotten the food," he replied. I don't know if it was the race she just got done running, or what he just said that made her want to send Freddy Kruger after him, but she was ready to throw a nearby butchers knife at his head for his stupidity. He could tell right away he said something stupid. "I will murder you when I get back," she said angrily as she ran out the front door.

She got into her car, and the clock radio said eleven o clock exactly. "Oh!" She screamed, starting the car. She pulled out almost getting into a deadly crash with an old man driving his buggy behind her, and darted down the street for the studio.

She would have gotten to the studio faster, if it weren't for her mini adventure she just lived through, but she managed to make it five minutes early by taking short cuts she was lucky enough to find. She drove around to find a parking spot, and found one that had her name on it! "That's a surprise," she thought as she pulled in. She got out and hurried into the building. Once inside, she found a ladies room and fought her way to it through the busy people who flooded the floors. She fixed her make-up, making sure she got all the sweat off, and sprayed herself with perfume to take the sweat and dog food scent off of her. Once she was fixed to her liking, she walked out of the bathroom and hurried to the elevator. She pressed the button, and waited for it to open. It opened up and she nearly bumped into Nick who was getting off of it to meet her downstairs. "Oh, Kate, your here now," he said surprised to see her early. "I hope I'm not to late," she replied with a worried look on her face. "Not at all," he replied placing a hand on her shoulder. "Come up with me, I was coming down to find you so I could give you a tour of the floor, and give you a little info about your job, what we do, and explain to you how things work around here." She smiled and sighed with relief that she wasn't late. The horrible race had been completed. She nodded her head and went into the elevator with him.


	5. Ashley meets Kate

Chapter five

As they waited for the elevator to arrive at the ninth floor, Nick started a conversation with her to better break the ice. "Have you had a hard time getting here at all?" He asked. "No, only when the traffic is bad. I've actually have found short cuts to get here sooner." She replied. "Oh, then you've found my secret route over here!" The doors opened revealing the quiet and bright sunlit floor. It was nothing like the bottom floor, with people constantly running a marathon to get work done. "The best part about this floor, is that it's mainly us who occupy it, except for when the janitor or mail man comes up to make their rounds." Said Nick with a smile. He motioned for her to follow him down the hall. She followed, and he lead her to two large wooden double doors. The wood was a light oak color, and the door had carvings on it. "Huh, where are we exactly?" Asked Kate with a confused look on her face. Nick pushed open the large double doors in, revealing a large room sunlit room, with chairs sitting on both the left and right sides of it, and replied, "this is the waiting room of our floor. When Zak needs to meet with important people to plan and organize lock downs, they usually sit in here, and the receptionist will tell them when he is available to see them." Kate looked around amazed at how big and bright it was. "Wow," was all she could say with a hand to her mouth. "I know, kinda like a waiting room for a doctors office," he commented. "It's better! Who likes to sit at the doctors office?" Nick laughed, and lead her to the end of the room where there where huge glass double doors.

"What's in there?" She asked looking in through the clear glass. "In there, is where you will be working." He replied opening the doors and walking in. She followed him in, and marveled at how nicely sized, lit, and furnished the room was. It was a good forty feet long and forty feet wide, and there where windows on the right hand side of it that looked out to the parking lot, and a nice view of San Diego. You could see Sea World's sky tower from there! There was also, a dark cherry wood desk with a desktop computer, printer, desk phone, desk lamp, and a bowl of peanut butter cups, sitting in the right hand corner of the room. Nick walked over to it with Kate behind him, and began to explain what she would be doing at her new work station.

"Kate, this is your work space, you will not only be our photographer, but Zak also wants you to be his receptionist." "I knew I would work as one!" She thought to herself. "When the desk phone rings, always say to the person on the other line: 'floor nine, this is Kate,' unless it's me, Zak or Aaron."But, how will I know if it's either one of you?" She asked. "The phone's buttons light up when one of us is calling the receptionist's desk. If your phones '2' button lights up, it's Zak, if it's the '3', it's me, if it's the '4', it's Aaron. You are reached by the '1' button." He explained. He cleared his throat and began to explain to her more about what she will be doing. "Your in charge of taking calls for Zak, and making appointments when people call in wanting to schedule a time to come speak with him. This desk not only is your receptionist's area, but also the digital photo analysis area. You need to analyze your picture's, and our pictures, we get at the lock downs and find paranormal phenomena. There is a bigger photo lab down stairs for you to use if needed, so don't worry about being short on machines you might need. Believe me, we have them all." He explained. He pointed over to three doors on the far left corner of the room. Two next to each other, and the third up against the back wal. "The door on the right is my office, and the door on the left is Aaron's." He explained, as he shifted his position and pointed towards the third door. "This is Zak's office door, if you need to come in and see any of us, call us on our phone lines." Kate noticed a big window on the right side of the wall behind her desk, next to Zak's office door to the left of it. "What's the window for?" She asked. "That's just a window Zak got for his office, it's got blinds on it, so don't worry about him being able to see out." Nick explained. She honestly began to wonder what Nick and Aaron did in there offices. She, curiously, asked politely trying not to be offensive, "what do you all do when your in your offices?" Nick laughed, wondering if she thought they sat in there offices and played internet games all day. "Believe me," he replied with a chuckle in his voice, "we do important work for the show in our offices, we look over evidence, editing, you name it. Were just as busy off camera as we are on, maybe even more busy off." She began to chuckle since he was still doing so. "What an ice breaker," she thought.

Then he took her out of the office and back to the elevator. They went down to the eighth floor where their production area was. The doors opened up to a darker hallway with several doors on each side. It was dark to help with the shooting of the show. He took her to a door on the right side of the hallway, and opened it up to a large photo lab. Kate knew what a photo lab was, and knew how to use the equipment. "The photo lab and production offices are on this floor, this is the lab I told you we have if you need it." He said, stepping in the big room that made his voice echo. He shut the doors and opened two metal double doors a few feet away on the left side. He opened them up to a large production area where the show was developed. Kate marveled at the equipment, space, camera's, all of it! It was the biggest place she had ever seen since she had gotten there. Now the reality of her working and being on a TV show, stuck in her mind, making her feel more nervous. "Are you camera shy?" He asked picking up one of the studio's camera's. "No," she replied knowing it was a lie. "Well, if your lying, then you better get past that soon, cause the camera is going to be your new boyfriend." "Or Zak," He thought to himself.

After he showed her where everything was and how everything worked, he took her back upstairs to the ninth floor for her to begin her first day of work. When they came into the receptionist area, Zak and Aaron where standing outside their office doors, discussing where their next lock down should be. They noticed Nick and Kate coming in, and immediately stopped their discussion. "Hey! Good to see you again!" Aaron said, as he went over to shake Kate's hand. "Hi Mister Goodwin," she replied. "Please," Aaron said with a hand raised, "call me Aaron," She smiled and nodded. Zak came over, and stuck a hand out. "Hi Miss Rowten, did Nick give you the details about everything?" He asked. "Yeah he did, I'll start right now,"she replied shaking his hand. He immediately got the warm sensation back, going through his body once he shook her hand. "Right, then start your days work, and let me know if people are coming to see me. I have a lock down to schedule and there will be people coming in through those doors." Zak ordered pointing towards the glass doors. Kate nodded and went over to her desk, pulling out the chair and sitting.

The guys went back into their offices to do what they usually did, as she made herself comfortable at her new work space. She noticed a drawer on the desk, and opened it to see what was in it. She saw a clip board, a shiny blue notepad, and a few markers in it. "What are these for?" She wondered. "Maybe for taking down numbers and appointment times?" She closed the drawer and powered up the computer. It was locked, and password protected, so she picked up her phone and called Nick to ask him how to get in the PC. "Hello?" "Nick, my computer is locked and is asking for a password, what is it?" She asked. He hung the phone up and came out of his office in a hurry. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I forgot to log in and help you reset the password." He said, as he quickly typed in letters and numbers, she couldn't read before he hit enter. He quickly opened a window to reset the password. "It's up to you what the password should be since it's your own computer." Said Nick as he went back into his office. "Thank you Mister Groff!" She said happily. He opened his door, stuck his head out, and quickly said, "you can call me Nick."

She looked at the screen and then thought of a not so obvious password anyone could easily get, unless it was a close friend or relative. She typed down: "Lyra", and reset it. She opened up the internet, and decided to quickly check her incoming messages while waiting for the phone to ring. She quickly looked around, making sure nobody was coming out of their office, able to see what she was doing, and clicked her inbox. She got a message from her college dean, and figured it was urgent since he was sending her something on the internet. Usually, he would try to call her, unless she didn't hear his calls. She wondered if she missed a call when she was running out of the store with the practically stolen dog food, because the message said it was sent a few hours ago that day. She clicked on it and began to read the following:

"Dear Miss Rowten,

It is to my understanding that you have a new job with a studio. I would like to speak to your boss or one of your superiors, and ask them if I can come by and talk with them. Please let me know as soon as you can,

Sincerely, Dean John Lake"

"He wants to talk to Zak?" She thought. The first thing she didn't want to ask Zak to do, was speak to her dean on the first day of work. "I'll ask him tomorrow," she left her inbox, and went on to customizing her wallpaper and screensaver. While she did this, the phone rang. She quickly picked it up and said, "floor nine, this is Kate." "I remembered!" She cheered to herself mentally. There was a dead silence on the other line, and after a second she could hear some breathing. " Hello?" she said hoping to get a response. Then, click! The phone went dead like a horror movie after you get a murderer calling you before the murder. She hung the phone up and thought nothing more of it but a simple wrong number. "they can call back if the want to," she thought as she brushed her hair back behind her ear.

Zak, sitting in his office, struggled to keep himself from thinking about Kate, especially since she was sitting right outside his office. He looked down at his hand he used to shake her's and felt the warmth coming back into his face. "No Zak!" He cried. "Don't do it! Remember what you promised yourself yesterday!"

Kate could hear him shouting in his office, and wondered what was wrong. "Should I go in and see if he's okay?" She wondered. When he kept on yelling, she decided to call him. She looked down at the phone, and with a shaky hand, picked it up, and pressed 2.

His desk phone began to ring, and he saw it was line one, Kate's line. He quickly picked it up and said in a more normal tone of voice, "hello?" "Mister Bagans, are you okay? I heard screaming from your office." She asked trying not to sound shy. He cursed himself knowing she must have heard him yelling a second ago. "I'm fine, let me know if I have any one coming to see me." He replied trying to sound serious like a boss would. "Okay, just checking." she replied hanging the phone up. He put it back on the receiver, and praised himself for not acting, or sounding nervous with her. "Yes! If I can manage to keep a straight face, then I can shake these thoughts!" He thought, smiling with satisfaction. He went back to working, forgetting that was the day Ashley was supposed to be coming in!

As the day progressed, Kate found herself answering calls from important people asking to come in and see Zak. She managed despite her nerves, to call him when needed and told him who was coming and why. "This job is actually going pretty well. The guys are nice and cool, my nerves are getting a little better, and I'm actually doing pretty good on my first day!" She declared happily. While she sat still awaiting for an important call to come in, a woman with blonde hair and a razzled face, came barging in through the glass doors, almost breaking them with her long red painted nails. Kate looked at her and wondered who she was, and what on earth she was doing there. The woman, of course, was Ashley. She was the one on the phone earlier that day, that Kate couldn't hear. When Ashley called, she thought Nick or Aaron would answer the phone, when she heard Kate's voice, she hung up quickly and rushed down to investigate. Her dark blue eyes slowly moved staring intently at Kate, who looked puzzled. She began to slowly walk towards her, looking at her the same way. Kate, didn't know what to do, but she stood up and tried to see if she could help her, believing she needed some assistance. "Excuse me," she said softly. This made Ashley stop walking, frozen from hearing her quiet sweet voice. "Are you okay Miss? Can I help you with anything?" Ashley was silent and full of anger. She couldn't believe Zak didn't tell her a woman was working for them, and certainly not a young pretty one like Kate. She put on a fake smile and extended a hand out to her saying, "hi, I'm Ashley, what's your name?"

Kate wasn't sure if she was hiding something or if she was just weird, but she took her hand and shook it replying, "hello, I'm Kate, it's very nice to meet you Ashley." Ashley grew anger as she shook Kate's hand. She quickly released scratching Kate's hand by accident with her nail. (Or was it?) She kept herself from losing her temper, and said in a nice tone, "may I see Zak Bagans please?" Kate, holding her hand from the scratch, picked up the phone and dialed Zak's line.

Zak was a bit more relaxed then he had been all week, but that was changing real quick once his phone rang. He heard his phone ring, and picked it up. "Hello?" "Mister Bagans, there is a woman here who is needing to see you ASAP." Kate replied in almost a whisper. Zak then realized that it was Ashley! "Oh! Okay, let her in immediately!" He replied in a panicked tone. "Okay," Kate replied. He hung his phone up and braced himself for screaming and crying once Ashley came in. Half a second later, and Ashley came busting into his office slamming the door behind her. Kate wondered what was going on when she saw the door being slammed.

Ashley approached Zak with wild eyes and anger. He stood up and made his way to her, and tried to hug her, but she pushed him back, and began to scream. "You idiot! Why didn't you tell me the newbie was a girl!" Zak, cussed himself out wishing he had thought of a way to help himself sooner, but that was now obviously to late. He figured the truth was the best way to go. Having her catch him in a lie was going to make the situation worse. He began to speak to her in a babyish tone to calm her. "Baby, I didn't want you to get jealous, I knew she would make you crazy." He said as he held her cheek. Normally, him speaking to her like this would calm her down, but this time, after seeing how Kate looked and acted, she didn't let it affect her. "Don't give me that!" She cried, making him jump back. "You know how I feel about you working with other girls! Why don't you care about this relationship?" She began to cry, but he was more concerned about how he was going to convince her to accept Kate working there, then her water works she pulled on him constantly. Again, the truth was all that came to mind. "Ashley," he said sternly, "I love you and you only, I have no interest in this girl. She is a photo expert, and you know we have needed one for a long time. She has a lot of talent, and I really think the team and show would benefit from this." She stayed silent as he continued to speak. "I wouldn't trade you away for anything in the world. She's just a face, and not even a pretty one at that. If I was to be anything with her, it would be a colleague to boss relationship." She wasn't happy about it, but she did occasionally think about Zak's happiness, and saw how much he wanted Kate to work for him. She also figured if she wanted to be his wife one day, she would have to get used to trusting him with other women. She ran into his arms and kissed him passionately. Zak praised himself in his mind and kissed her back, happy with the results. She released him and said while holding a hand to his cheek, "I trust you honey, but I would like to ask you something," she said in a babyish tone. "What?" He replied sounding the same. "I want to come in tomorrow, and watch her work! I want to make sure she's not going to try to flirt with you or anything!" His eyes widened. She had never done anything so drastic in her life. He released her from his strong grip, and said in a surprised tone, "But honey, it would be so boring! Would you really like to sit down and watch her work all day?" She gave him a frown and replied angrily, "if you want me to accept this, then let me sit down and watch her tomorrow!" He didn't know what to do, or say.

Nick and Aaron could hear all the yelling Ashley was doing in Zak's office. They knew why she was yelling, but the words from Zak's mouth he just spoke made them wonder what she was asking him to do. They left their offices and waited in the receptionist area for Ashley to leave, so they could talk to Zak when she leaves. They came out at the same time and found Kate hard at work at her desk. She turned her head to the left and saw Aaron approaching her, and Nick leaning up against his office door, both looking at her with smiled on their faces. She wondered what they wanted and why their where staring at her. "Can I help you guys?" She asked. Aaron sat down on the chair across from her's, and said with a big smile, "your doing a good job, I never thought I would see anybody take a receptionist's job seriously." She felt flattered and smiled back replying, "thank you, I always take any job I have seriously." Nick, making a cough noise to grab their attention, said with a laugh, "eventually, you won't be as serious as you are now, you'll learn to hang and joke around with us the longer you stay here." She smiled and felt very welcomed by them. Then, with a thought coming to mind, asked, "is Zak a serious boss?" "Nick and Aaron laughed as a reply, making her wonder if she said something wrong. "No! He's like us most of the time! Why would you wonder that?" Asked Nick, silencing his laughs. "Well, I heard him yelling earlier, and decided to call and ask if he was okay, and he sounded very serious and impatient. I was just wondering." She replied. "He's got a lot of things going on right now in his personal life right now, he'll come around." Aaron replied putting a hand on her shoulder. Then she was tempted to ask them who the girl was who had been in his office for awhile. She could hear loud talking, and could have sworn she had heard someone say, 'I love you'. She got up the courage trying not to sound obvious that she liked him, and asked, "who is the blonde girl who went into Zak's office? I'm sure by now you could hear the loud voices in his office." Nick sighed and replied, "she's, Zak's girlfriend." It didn't surprise her the least, but it did make her feel a little disappointed. "Oh," she replied, trying to sound nonchalant. "Is she nice?" Aaron got a smile on his face with a laugh coming on, and said, "well, she's... we'll let Zak tell you about her more." She understood what he had meant by that, and replied with a hand to her chin, "I'm guessing not so much?" Nick and Aaron nodded as a reply. Then, Zak's office door swung open, with a happy looking Ashley skipping out. She stepped on Nick's foot as she passed by unknowingly, to busy with what Zak got done saying to her. As he clenched his foot in his hand, she turned and looked at Kate, saying, "I will see you tomorrow kiddy! " With that, she left. "Kiddy?" Wondered Kate. Then Zak came out of his office, with a stressed out look on his face. His friends, and Kate, looked at him wondering what had just happened. He asked Nick and Aaron to come into his office so he could talk to them about what Ashley wanted. They left quickly, leaving Kate to wonder what was going on.


	6. Can my girlfriend spy on you?

Chapter six

Nick and Aaron sat down on lounge chairs, while Zak stood up and paced the floor as he began to explain to them what Ashley had just said. "Guys, we have a bad problem." Nick asked raising a hand, "let me guess, is she going to make you fire Kate, or torch the building with her inside?" Zak starred at him with seriousness written on his face. "Dude, this isn't a joke, she was really upset with me." "What did she want to do? I heard you saying something from my office, about her not wanting to sit down and watch something?" Aaron asked scratching his head. Zak sighed, and began to tell them what she had wanted: "She wants to come in tomorrow, and monitor Kate while she works." The guys stayed silent, until Nick broke it with obvious objection to this idea in his voice. "What? Why does she want to do that?" "To make sure she doesn't flirt with me," "No Zak, she's gonna scare off anybody who come walking in through the door, and you know how scary she can be!" Zak sighed, and made his way to his office window, that looked out outside towards the beach in the distance. The waters sparkled and shimmered from the distance. "I know she's being crazy, but she said if she saw Kate flirt, or if I didn't treat her like a colleague, she was going to give me an ultimatum." Said Zak as he starred out to the beautiful shore. "What ultimatum?" Asked Aaron. "Either she will break up with me, or I will have to fire Kate." The guys both replied at once trying to protest him ever consider firing Kate. He raised a hand and looked at them sternly to silence the argument. Aaron waited a moment and spoke on his own behalf, "but Zak, she's so cool! I really think she would be an awesome girl to hang with!" "Yeah dude," Nick replied as he began to protest, "I like her too, she's really cool and funny." Zak made his way to his desk chai9r and sat down. He picked up a rubber ball her had sitting on the table, and began to squeeze it for stress relief.

"You guys know I don't want to fire her either, but what am I going to do if she threatens to leave me?" He asked as he squeezed the air out of the ball. "Marry Kate," Aaron replied with a smile. Zak looked at him seriously, and replied, "Aaron, I don't want to hear anything more about that, I don't like that girl! She's eighteen years old, I barely know her, and plus, I love Ashley, and I am not going to ever risk that!" The guys where surprised by his reaction. "Dude, it's just a little joke, take it easy." Aaron replied, sounding a lot more serious then before. "Well it ain't funny dude," Zak replied angrily. Nick ran a hand in his hair and asked, "Does that mean your not going to try to at least befriend her?" Zak looked at him and stopped squeezing his ball, replying, "I am, but for tomorrow, and until I know she's cool, I'm gonna have to keep my distance from her." Aaron asked the obvious question everyone wanted to know, "are we gonna do it then?" Zak nodded.

It was now time for Kate's break, which Zak scheduled for around three o clock in the afternoon. She went down into the private lounge, which was on the seventh floor, and opened the doors to a huge and bright room. There was a massive window looking out to the city, and by it was a table and two couches facing each other. She entered and explored further, and when she turned the corner, she found a fridge, a few counters, and a stove. It also had a few coffee and espresso machines. She opened the heavy metal fridge door and found a lot of basic ingredients in it to make small dishes, you could make easily at home. She didn't want anything big, so she found a cup of yogurt and a bottle of juice, and went over to the table sitting down on one of the white couches. She placed her meal on the table and looked out the big window, in aw with how beautiful the city looked from there. "Wow, this is relaxing." she declared with a smirk. She opened her juice and took a sip. The food in the fridge may have sucked, but the sweet beverage she was drinking was ice cold, crisp and her favorite kind of juice, apple! "Oh, what a flavor!" She thought, feeling a little stupid to be excited over a bottle of apple juice. The crisp cold liquid ran down her throat and calmed her butterfly filled stomach. She looked out the window and began to think about that girl who came in. "It was his girlfriend! I knew he had one!" She thought with a frown coming on her face. "But like I really have or had a chance, that girl was so pretty and older then me! I shouldn't let myself like him like this." Then the sound of someone opening the doors caught her ear. She looked behind her shoulder and found Zak standing there with a half smile on his face. "Hi," she said shyly. "Hi Kate, would you please come into my office in five minutes? I need to have a discussion with you about something." Kate figured she had done something wrong, and replied with nervousness, "did I do something wrong?" "No, I just need to speak with you." She nodded her head as she took a sip of her juice. He left the room quickly, and left a trailing scent of his cologne behind. It caught her nose as she was walking back to the kitchen area. "He smells good!" She thought with a slight blush. "But I need to step back, I can't like him like this." She placed the yogurt she never got to eat back into the fridge, but kept her juice in hand as she made her way back to the ninth floor.

Nick and Aaron went back to work, and left Zak to tell Kate on his own about Ashley. He sat there eager for the door to open, so he could get this stupid monkey he had on his back, off for now. The door knob turned, and his nerves where quickly becoming relieved as she came walking in. She glanced at him briefly as she walked in clenching her bottle of juice tighter the closer she got to him. He stood up, and motioned with his hand a place for her to go and sit. She sat down on the chair that was across from his, as he began to explain to her why she was there.

**Zak's P.O.V**

"Hey, thanks for coming up so soon," I said calmly. She looked at me with those brown eyes, and asked me in a kinda scared voice, "did I do something wrong Mister Bagans?" I felt bad that I had to tell her that my girlfriend, who should trust me by now, was making me put her through this, but I had to show Ashley how committed I was to our relationship. "No Kate, nothing at all, I've monitored your performance, and I like how seriously you have taken this job." She smiled back at me and brushed some hair behind her ear. I couldn't help but get lost in her smile, but I got myself back to the subject. "The real reason why I am asking you to see me now, is because, I have a favor to ask you." She got silent, but looked patient and serious. "What is it sir?" She asked, looking concerned. I closed my eyes for a moment, and took in a deep breath, before I began to explain to her what she had to do tomorrow. "Well, as you already may know by now, Ashley, is my,... girlfriend." I cussed myself out angry that I paused before I said 'girlfriend'" "Yes, I know, Nick and Aaron told me earlier," she replied. "Well," I began to say, feeling the humiliation Ashley was putting me through come on making my stomach churn, "me and her, are kinda serious, and, well, she's the jealous type." She looked at me with a bit of confusion, then replied once she understood what I said in a panicked voice, "Sir, That didn't even cross my mind! I would never!" "I know," I replied with a hand raised to silence her panic, "but she thinks so, and that's why I need to ask you to allow her to watch you work tomorrow." The look on her face was almost a smile coming on, but not quite. I can understand though, why someone might laugh at that. "Excuse me sir? She wants to watch me to see what?" She asked with more of a little smile coming on her face. "She wants to make sure were not having a secret love affair, it's just one day, I swear that's it, then we can focus on getting you ready for your first lock down." I replied feeling like an idiot. She didn't say anything at all for a minute, and then a full blown smile on her face came on with a slight giggle. I couldn't help but laugh at the situation. "Yeah, this is my life for you," I said trying not burst out laughing. She went along and laughed with me, I knew then that I had broken the ice with her now. "I'm sorry sir," she said in between laughs, "I have just never heard of anybody's girlfriend ask them if they can sit down at their boyfriends work place, and monitor all the female workers for flirting!" I held my sides as I began to laugh harder, making her laugh even more then she already was. Once we where calm, I wiped some of the seat I got on my face, and replied this time in a happier voice, "is it okay with you?" She nodded her head and stood back up to leave. "What time will she be in tomorrow?" She asked. "At eleven thirty, the same time you came in today." I replied. She quickly took my hand and shook it replying, "Okay, I'll get back to work, and be sure to come in tomorrow at the same time." I smiled and nodded my head. As she left the room, I felt the warming sensation over take my body again. I hit myself in the stomach to reminded myself that I wasn't going to like this girl. "I'm not living through this for nothing," I thought, as I went back to planning the next lock down.

Kate went back to work, pushing what Zak had just asked her to do in the back of her mind, and finished around eight o clock or so. She shut her computer down, and got up to get her coat. Aaron came out right as she was placing it on and said, "Your leaving now?" "Yeah, I have to get in early since Ashley is coming in tomorrow." She replied, figuring that Nick and Aaron already knew. "I guess he told you, huh?" Said Aaron putting an arm around her. She nodded and said, "I didn't know his girlfriend was so critical. I mean, it's kind of insulting to me that she would consider me a player like that." Aaron began to pat her back where his hand was, and replied in an uplifting tone, "don't sweat it, I know your not that way. Ashley, well, is,... different. Don't take it personally, neither me, Nick, or Zak think of you badly at all." She smiled and gave him a brief hug. "Thanks Aaron, I can tell you and I are gonna be good friends." She said happily. "Your welcome," Aaron replied. Nick came out of his office and found the two hugging. "Whoa!" He cried in a joking tone. The two broke up, and she went over to say goodbye to him. "Bye Nick, I will be back in the morning." She said sticking a hand out. Nick smiled and opened his arms up for a hug. "Why does Aaron get a hug and I get nothing?" He asked making a fake sad face. She smiled and gave him a quick hug before heading out the door. "Tell Zak I said bye!" She cried as she left through the glass doors.

"She's really cool," said Nick, as he walked next to Aaron and stood beside him. "Yeah, she said she felt insulted by the way Ashley is treating her." Aaron replied. "Man, I Ashley doesn't give her anymore trouble. " Nick replied feeling bad for Kate. "I hope Zak doesn't ever know how Ashley has made her feel, then he would feel like an idiot asking her to do this for him." Aaron replied, but Zak could over hear them since he had his door cracked, and began to feel guilty.

Kate was on the drive back home, and as she was trying to relax a little in peace, she couldn't help but think about what Zak had been saying to her earlier. "He said they where serious," She thought. "What does he see in her?" She wondered. As she made a turn for Carry street, she smiled as she began to think about how they laughed when he told her about what Ashley wanted. She began to smile and chuckle thinking about it. "That was actually a good way to kick off a good friendship," She thought, as she parked her car in it's usual spot. She opened the door and headed back inside tired from a hard days work.


	7. More problems

Chapter seven

Lance was in the kitchen busy preparing dinner. Normally, dinner was served at six and finished by six thirty or seven, but he had no idea when she was coming home so he waited. He couldn't believe she was taking so long to come home. "Wow," he said to himself, "she must be hard at work." He was busy chopping carrots, and washing lettuce for a salad, with Lyra waiting by the front door for her master to return. He placed the vegetables he cut in a bowl and began to mix in some special ingredients in for his special salad dressing. The mixture contained: olive oil, cream of mushroom soup, pepper, milk. And his special ingredient, hot sauce to give it a kick. He mixed away and finished. He picked up some paper plates from a near by stack and began to set place settings. Paper plates was easier for them to use for their meals, especially if they where busy and couldn't take the time to clean up large amounts of dishes. As he headed back into the kitchen to finish making his keish, he could hear Lyra barking happily, meaning Kate had returned home. "Hey girlfriend!" He cried.

Kate came in and began to pat Lyra on the head as she went into the kitchen to see Lance. "Hey, how was your day?" She asked, taking her purse off her shoulder. "Busy, had to work, had a class, you know, that kinda stuff. Oh, and I made sure I fed Lyra." He replied, giving her a stern look with a little bit of humor in it. She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek, as she dipped a finger in his dressing for a a taste. "I'm sorry for how I acted, I was just nervous and scared of getting fired." She said as she tasted the spicy dressing. "It's cool," he replied, giving her a quick hug in return. "How was your day?"

**Kate's P.O.V**

I didn't feel like talking about what Zak wanted me to do for him tomorrow, but the rest of the day besides that part, had actually gone well, so I began to tell him as I took a seat at the dinner table. "Well, for starters," I paused for a minute to clear my throat, "Nick gave me a tour, and you know what? We where both right!" "Right about what?" He asked, looking at me interested in my story. "Remember when I said I was going to work as a receptionist, well, I was right! Not only must I be the photographer and investigator, but I have to answer calls and make appointments for people to come and have meetings with Zak." Lance was shocked by what I said, but began to chuckle. "That's so weird! Are you mad?" He asked with a laugh. "No, It's a nice office, right outside his, air conditioned, and I get a nice view." I replied kicking my feet up. "What else went on?" He asked, as he placed his ham and cheddar cheese keish in the center of the table. "Well, the guys are really cool, I can tell me and Aaron are going to be close friends. I like to talk with him and joke around, he's just got a fun personality." I replied, cutting myself some of the keish. "What about Nick and Zak?" He asked as he took a seat beside me. "Well, Nick is a cool guy, he's been a little flirty with me, but other then that, I like him."

Lance waited for me to say something about Zak, but I didn't want him to think I was jealous of Ashley, which of course I obviously am. He looked at me with eyes eager to hear what I ahd to say. I glanced back at him as I served myself some of the salad, and starred back intently as if we where in a starring contest. "What about Zak? Is he nice in person?" He asked with eagerness. I sighed, took a deep breath, and I think that was the thing that pretty much told him, something went on. "What happened?" He asked, now sounding more concerned than eager. "I like Zak, and I know he likes me, he's so far a fair boss, and he hasn't been demanding, until this afternoon." I replied slowly. "What happened?" Lance asked, in almost the exact same manner as before. "Lance, I was right, he has a girlfriend and she saw me today." He wasn't convinced at first, but asked me anyway how I knew she was his girlfriend. "Kate, I have read every blog and news story about Zak, and trust me, he has no girlfriend. How do you know this?" I gave him a serious look with my eyes, to show him I was being serious, "Nick and Aaron told me," Lance grew silent for a moment, not sure what to say. "Well, that must have been disappointing for you," He replied, finally coming up with something to say. "I don't like him," I said harshly, as I took a sip of my lemonade. "Come on!" He urged, "I know you like him, your face was totally red when you came home yesterday!" I blushed when he said this, and when I blush, my cheeks glow red showing obvious signs of embarrassment or nervousness. I stayed silent, though, and tried to turn my head away so he couldn't see what my face was expressing, differently from what I was trying to express with my words. But Lance knows me well, and he knows when I am lying or in denial. He kept on pushing me and pushing me, until I finally snapped. "Fine!" I cried, making Lyra stop eating to look up at me. "I do, I like him a lot! I wish I didn't though, cause now I feel like a weird fan girl!" He began to smile and he clapped his hands together replying, "Ha! I knew I was right! I bet you wanted to kill Ashley." "Yeah, I did ," I replied quietly. "What was she like?" He asked, getting back to the subject about my day. " Lance, she's kinda weird." I replied sternly. "What do you mean?" "She's a jealous woman, and she thinks I'm trying to steal Zak from her." "She does? Why would you say that?" "Because, Zak told me she has jealousy issues, since they're in a serious relationship." I replied, taking a bite of my warm salad.

I then, began to tell him about what stupid thing he wanted me to do. "And that's not the only thing that happened, I have some stupid news." He leaned in eager to hear what I had to say. Even Lyra grew silent as if she was also listening. "He asked me, if Ashley could come in tomorrow, and watch me work all day, to make sure I'm not going to flirt with Zak." He almost didn't believe me when I told him, but then an expression of belief and disbelief came on his face. "Your serious?" He asked with an eyebrow raised. I nodded in return. "No way!" "Yes way!" We looked at each other for a moment, and then we began to laugh over the stupidity of the topic. "That's dumb!" Lance cried, trying not to choke on the food he had in his mouth. "I know!" I cried, almost not being able to breathe. "She sounds psycho!" "She is, I know tomorrow is going to be horrible for me, and I'll probably come home with a not so funny story for you if she acts like a snob all day." I replied, wiping a tear away from my eye as a result of the laughter.

Lance placed a hand to my shoulder, and said in a caring voice full or concern, "I'm sorry about Zak, I know you probably didn't want to find that out the first day you worked there." I placed a hand on his and pat it lightly, and gave him a half smile. "It's okay, I honestly would rather figure that out now, then later on after months of liking him even more. And besides," I paused to take a drink, "I don't have a shot with him even if he was single." "Come on!" Lance cried shoving me playfully. "You would so have a chance! If she did, what difference does it make for anyone else?" "She's a supermodel, Nick told me when I was busy on the computer." I replied shooting down his comments, but Lance isn't someone you can easily win an argument with. "Supermodel? Please! All they do is starve themselves, and make people feel bad for having fat on they're butts." I chuckled a bit, he always knows how to make me feel better. I reached over and gave him a hug. "Thanks buddy," I said softly. He tightened his grip around me and replied, "your welcome sweetheart." "I guess I better eat up for tomorrow, I'm going in same time, coming back same time." I said, as I began to eat. We ate and laughed about jokes Lance had heard at work that day.

The next morning, Kate got up around nine, and quickly got herself ready for work. She made sure to wear the right clothes so Ashley wouldn't freak. She wore a white long sleeved shirt, accessorized with a black tie, and a pair of jeans with black boots. She didn't want to bow to her, or her craziness, but the idea of being fired before even getting the chance to go on a lock down was unpleasant. Kate had never been someone who believed in hiding who you are, or allowing someone to get away with bad behavior. She wanted so much to tell her off. She headed out to the kitchen, figuring she had time to eat some breakfast before work. She came out, and found a note on the counter from Lance. She picked it up and read it:

"Kate, had an emergency at work, needed to head out early. Made you some toast and stuck it on the counter. Love you! Good luck at work!

-Lance "

"What kind of emergency do you have at a car wash?" She wondered. "Maybe a leak, or a waxing malfunction." She picked up the cinnamon covered toast and ate it at the counter. Lyra came out looking sad and stressed out, compared to her usual energetic happy mood. Kate bent down to look at her loyal friend, who was lying down with her face buried in her paws. "What's the matter?" She asked softly stroking her head. "Maybe your hungry," she hurried over to the cabinets taking out the stolen bag of dog food, and filled her food and water dishes. She placed them in their usual spot to see if Lyra would eat, but she barely glanced. "What am I going to do with you?" She sat down beside her and began to stroke her head again, this time for longer. After about ten minutes, she was sitting up licking her fingers and wagging her tail. "Well this is making you feel better," she said stroking her belly. She took her cell phone out of her pocket, and decided to call her vet.

She waited a minute, and got her vet doctor Sarah Macpherson. Sarah was a sweet girl, and another one of Kate's good friends. She was married to an Irish man named Eric Macpherson. She was the only one of her friends who was married. Sarah had long auburn hair that was curly, and her eyes where amber. Her skin was a nice snow white complexion, due to her own french and Irish heritage. She was very sweet and very smart, having graduated from vet school at nineteen. "Hello?" "Sarah, Lyra isn't eating this morning, she came out looking very stressed and out of energy." Kate explained. She could hear Sarah typing this down on her computer, before she began to question the worried owner. "Has she been like this for days?" "No, just today, well,... Lance was the one who fed her, he would have called me to let me know about it, but that wouldn't be the reason why she's not eating today." She explained. Sarah took a minute to think about what Kate had just said, and asked her a bizarre question, "dis you get a new job?" "What does that have to do with anything?" Kate asked. "I just need to know," Sarah replied. "Yeah, I got myself a longer job I was gonna call you later and tell you about," she replied. "How long are you at work for now?" "about eight and a half hours," Sarah snapped her fingers, having figured out what was wrong with Lyra. "Kate, she has separation anxiety. She is probably depressed this morning, because she knows you will be gone all day. Your old job gave you lots of free time, since it wasn't a place you would go and work to everyday."

"What am I supposed to do?" Kate asked sounding worried. "I don't have a place to take her for the day!" "Drop her off at my house, and Eric will watch her for you." Kate didn't really like Eric all that much. Though there was nothing wrong with him, he was nice and very kind, she just thought of Sarah like a little sister, and didn't like to see anyone kissing on her the way he did, since he was a very romantic man. Always giving Sarah flowers, taking her on dates weekly, and talking to her with sweet talk most of the time. She rolled her eyes and replied, "fine, but only for today, I'll see if my boss will let her come into the office with me sometimes in the week to help with her separation anxiety." "Alright, I'll call Eric and tell him your coming." Sarah replied. "Thanks Sarah,"

She hung up the phone, and put Lyra's leash on. She guided her out the front door and into the car. She quickly went back inside to get a few of her toys, and she grabbed her purse. She got back in the car and saw it was ten o clock already. Thankfully, Eric didn't live to far away from where she was, so with a quick sigh, she headed straight for Sarah and Eric's house.

**Kate's P.O.V**

I made it to Eric's house, and just by the thought of having to leave Lyra there all day made me ill. This guys was a romantic show off, we never got along from the minute Sarah first introduced him to me. I don't personally think he's mean or cruel to her, I'm quite happy Sarah found a man she loves so much and in return loves her back, I just wish he wouldn't be so kissy kissy with her right in front of me! I took Lyra out of the car and she had more of a bounce in her little steps since she knew where we where going. Lance doesn't at all spend time with her due to his allergies, and since Eric has played with her before, she was actually very happy to go see him. This was going to help with the social anxiety a lot. The only problem, is that I can't go ask Zak if she can start coming in with me, One, because of Ashley's constant presence today, and two, he may not even allow it. I walked her up to the front door with her toys in hand and knocked on it loudly. Eric opened it up right away and looked at me with fake petty. "Oh, look who's coming for my help!" He said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and shoved the toys and Lyra's leash into his hands. "I don't need your petty, just take her now. I am already late for work." He looked down at the sweet faced canine I loved so very much, and stroked her head. "Where going to have fun today!" He said as he brushed a brown curl behind his ear. "Just take her, 'll be back at eight thirty to get her." I said getting impatient with him. He looked at me with and irritated look on his face. "Fine, but you are going to owe me." I rolled my eyes and quickly left the porch. I looked back and said, "goodbye baby, I love you! I'll come back tonight for you." Lyra wagged her tail and barked in response before disappearing into the large home.

I hurried back into my car and hurried down the road for work. I didn't need the added stress of Lyra's separation anxiety to go in with all the other things I was already dealing with, but that's life for you. Well, my life to re quote Zak for a minute. "One thing at a time." I told myself, and that was the truth. Now what I needed to focus on was getting through the day without exploding at Ashley. Just how was this day going to turn out to be like?


	8. Kate's bad day, part 1

Chapter eight

On her way to work, Kate was stopped by a police officer. She could hear the siren going off, and saw the lights in her rear view mirrors. "Great!" She cried. She pulled the car over by a subway restaurant, and waited for the scary looking cop to come over. He approached the car and knocked on her window loudly. She gulped and rolled it down. He bent down to eye level with her and took his sunglasses off. His eyes told the story of a long and stressful life, with a job that was just as stressful. "Miss," he said in a tough Boston accent, "where you aware that your license plate has been written over? She looked at him with a confused look. "Written over? What do you mean?" She asked. "Oh you think I'm stupid?" He cried losing his patients, "I know when someone has been messing with a license plate, and I think this car is stolen!" She gasped and began to make frantic gestures with her hands as she replied, "officer, this is my car, it breaks down a lot, but never the less it's my car!" "Let me see your registration for the car," he replied sternly. No questions asked, she reached in her glove compartment and took out the cars registration form. With a shaking hand, she handed it to the officer. He began to read the paper carefully. He occasionally glanced at her as he read. Each time he did, she felt scared that she was going to go to jail for no reason.

"Miss, step out of the car please," her eyes widened and her legs began to shake as she opened the car door. She managed to stop her legs from shaking she didn't need him to accuse her of drunk driving next. "Let me see your drivers license please," he asked in a calmer tone. She quickly reached into her wallet and pulled out her drivers license. He took it from her and read it glancing back at the registration form to compare. He handed her back the documents, and said in a nicer tone, "your free to go miss, clearly you have had a kid come by and mess with your license plate, your off the hook." A sense of relief took over her entire body. "Thank you officer, I'll see that the license plate is cleaned." She replied politely. He nodded his head, placed his glasses back on, and drove off in his cop car. After he left, she ran to the back of the car to investigate the written over license plate. It said: Loser.

She knew immediately who it was that wrote over her plate, "Eric!" She cried. They always played pranks on each other when they where angry or got on each others nerves. Sarah grew sick of having to ref bad fights between them, and after a while, left them to resolve their own differences. But now it seemed the fights got worse now that she wasn't involved in any of them. "Now I have to run to the car wash, and have this taken off! I can't drive around all day with this!" She hurried back into her car and sped over to the nearest car wash. "This is lovely problem number three for my day!" She cried.

After waiting for forty five minutes, the car washers managed to get the permanent marker off the plate. She hurried over to work, after wasting some of the extra time she had to get there. She had hoped to have an hour or two in the office alone before Ashley showed up to watch her, but that didn't look like it was going to happen. She made it to the studio with only a few minutes to spare once again. She noticed right by her parking spot, a bright pink Mercedes Benz was parked with a license plate that said: Hotgal, On it. She instantly knew who it was, even though she had never seen her car, "Ashley," she whispered to herself.

**Kate's P.O.V**

I walked into the elevator of the studio, and pressed nine. I felt more at piece in the elevator even with it's terrible music playing, then how I was going to feel with a crazy woman watching me work all day. It's not like I was worried or anything like that. I may like Zak, but I'm not going to go around and announce it to anyone. No, that was to be kept only to myself and the pages of my journal. The doors opened up, and I casually walked down the hallway for those grand carved doors. Once opened, my day was only going to go from bad to worse. I felt it in my instincts, and rarely, are my instincts wrong. I pushed open those heavy doors, and immediately, I could see Nick and Aaron standing by my desk talking, but Ashley was no where to be seen... yet any way. I walked in through the glass doors and smiled at the guys as I walked by heading for the coat closet to hang my purse and coat up. Aaron was the first to come over and greet me with a bear hug. A little close contact for the second day to know someone, but he and Nick both made me feel comfortable, so I didn't mind it. Zak, not even close. Can't even think about him without my hands getting all sweaty. I needed more time to be around him to get used to his presence, and of course, to get to know him better. "Hey! How are you today?" Aaron asked kindly, as he hugged me almost to the point where I could not breathe. "I'm okay, rough start to the day though," I replied in a struggling attempt to breathe. Nick saw my struggle, came over and broke Aaron's grip on me. "Dude! She's suffocating!" He cried pulling him back. I smiled graciously and replied, "it's alright, I actually needed a nice hug."

As I approached my desk, I took a look around to see if there was any sign of Ashley being there. "Is she here yet?" I whispered, taking a seat at my desk. "Yeah, she's in Zak's office right now, he is going to come out with her in a minute." Nick replied almost laughing. Aaron couldn't help himself, he started to chuckle. He hurried back into his office where he could laugh in privacy. Nick pretty much did the same as Aaron did. Before he disappeared behind his office door, he looked back at me and said, "I'll check in on you later!" Then I heard Zak's door opening, that terrible noise that his door made indicating it needed to be oiled, made my stomach churn. Not only because I was to see him in a few seconds, but also because the woman who hates all women was coming out with him to watch me all day. As he, followed by Ashley, walked by my desk, he glanced a smile at me briefly, his way of saying hello with an angry chick behind him. She looked my way also, but with a look of disapproval of me being here. They stopped at the end of my desk, and I stood up immediately as if the queen and king of England where before me.

I was shocked by how Zak was speaking to me, not at all what he sounded like or acted like towards me yesterday. Very mean, blunt and bossy. "Alright, you need to keep Ashley comfortable, go get her whatever she wants when she asks you to get it, and make sure you do your job also." I looked up at him feeling hurt by his sudden change in attitude, but Ashley looked happy with him, while having her hand in his back pocket of his jeans. "Go get something? Like food and water?" I asked, not sure of what he had meant by those commands. "Are you deaf?" He replied rudely, "yes that's what I meant, do it for her, and you won't be fired!" I gasped and almost had a handover my mouth. This is the man I'm attracted too? I have horrible taste! No wonder all my ex boyfriends where losers, I'm attracted to them! "What's wrong with him!" I thought angrily to myself. He set up a big pink fuzzy chair, and placed it across from me, removing the original wooden chair from it's place, and stored it in a nearby closet. "Sit down sweetheart," he said softly to Ashley. She smiled and sat down as he pulled the chair out. Just the sight of it made me sick! I rolled my eyes since I had my head turned to avoid actual vomiting from this scene. "An angel, in love with a demon!" I thought. "Thank you Zakky! "She cried giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Zakky?" I thought.

"I love you babe, call me if you have any problems," he said as he kissed her back on the nose. "Oh believe me," she replied, in a nasty sounding tone as she looked right at me, "I will." He left the room for his office, leaving me to defend myself.

**Hour one, 12:00 in the afternoon...**

"What's wrong with that guy?" I wondered as I prepared my workstation. I saw out of the corner of my eye Ashley looking back at me with satisfaction of achieving what she had wanted from Zak... or "Zakky!" The sly look in her eyes, and the curl in her lips, pretty much told me this was going to be one tough chick to please. But then I wondered why I was still doing this if Zak had now morphed into a jerk. There has to be more to why he's acting like this... I hope. I got my mind set back onto working, and reached my hand across the desk to turn the computer on. As my hand pressed the button, her gaze focused directly on my fingers. Then she looked at me with a wide eyed look. "What are you doing?" She asked in a suspicious tone. I looked back at her thinking: "Seriously?" But still, I replied nicely as my mother raised me to be. "I'm turning the computer on." Her pencil drawn eyebrow raised for a moment, but then she sat back down in her chair. I almost rolled my eyes right in front of her. Good thing I didn't, I probably would have been sent to Azkaban if I had. I starred at her as I pressed the button on the computer monitor to turn It on. She did the same she had done before, except she had noticed I was starring right back at her, so she asked me in a snobby tone, "who you starring at little girl?" I didn't answer right away, because I knew my reply would have been what I was thinking, which was as follows: "You, you crazy woman! Why do you have to act psycho when I power on a computer?" But instead, I replied trying not to sound insulted by the comment 'little girl', "Nothing, just trying to do my job." She glared back at me and replied, "well then do it! Stop starring at me! Or else, I'll call Zakky!" I held my hands up and shook them replying, "okay, okay, don't be crazy, be cool." That seemed to have calmed her down, for now anyway.

**Hour two, 1:00 in the afternoon...**

As I typed away at my computer, I was being driven to the brink of suicide listening to Ashley texting someone on her cell phone. It was one of those touch pad phones that I never had the ability to have since I'm poor, but I never really cared to have one anyway. I could see as I glanced my eyes, her little demon expression she called her smile, coming on her face as she texted to the one person who came to mind, Zak Bagans. I wanted so badly to yell at her to stop, but remember what I said earlier, I would go to Azkaban if I did. I buried my face into my computer monitor more, to avoid having to look at her, but the noise she made! The little giggles and giggles, and the occasional word of: "your so bad!" I couldn't stand it! Then, I remembered that I brought my mp3 player with me, and it was in my purse. Zak never said anything about not being able to listen to music, as long as I was however, able to hear the phone ring. I figured if he's allowed to bring in his crazy girlfriend to spy on me, then I'm allowed to listen to Maroon 5 and Hawk Nelson for a while as I worked. I got up, and the second I did, she stopped texting and immediately looked up at me. I slowly made my way to the closet door for my purse, with my eyes on her. Her gaze never left mine as I opened the door and got my purse off the rack. I carried it back over to the desk and opened it. I searched for my mp3 player, and as I did, her head peered over trying to gaze at the contents of my purse. I looked at her now with an irritated look on my face. "What are you doing?" I asked. She looked back at me and replied, "what are YOU doing?" "I'm getting something." "What?" She asked suspiciously. "My gun to shoot you," I thought to myself. I chuckled for a second after that brief thought.

It made her mad though, "why are you laughing at me? I'm asking you what your getting out of your purse!" She cried. I reached in my purse, and fished out my mp3 player. I held it two inches away from her face replying, "my dang mp3 player! That's all! Be cool!" I hurried back to the closet and hung my purse up, and the minute I turned around, I saw Ashley standing behind me with fury written on her face. She was blocking my way out, so I couldn't get out. I figured it was the perfect place to hide her unconscious body after I unleash my martial arts on her, but violence wasn't an option for me... yet! "Ashley," I said kindly, "may I please get through?" "You can't listen to your mp3 player at work," she replied snobbishly. "Who says?" I asked getting impatient. "Me, I'm Zakky's girlfriend, and I know what rules he places down around here!" She replied reaching down for my mp3. I jerked my hand back, and replied not sounding so sweet any more, "Ashley, this is my property, do not try to take my property!" She grabbed my hand with the mp3 in it, and began to jerk back and forth. I jerked back not willing to stand for that and for my size, I actually had a stronger grip and more muscle power compared to her, even though she was a giant compared to short me.

After a second or two of struggling, I finally let go getting tired of fighting over it. "Fine!" I cried letting go, "just take it if it makes you feel better!" I shoved it in her hands. She looked down at it, and threw it on the floor making all the buttons fly off replying, "Don't want it," she went skipping back to her chair, looking back at me knowing she upset me. I bent down and picked up what used to be my mp3 player, and thought to myself: "Little dirty obnoxious brat! I have to buy a new one! Mickey gave this to me!" I picked up what was left, threw it in a trash can, and sat back down at my desk to work. Since Ashley had done to me what she had been planning, she sat there and filed her nails. Since it was quiet, no texting, no talking,...no mp3 destroying, I sighed with relief and went back to work. If this was already happening after just two hours of work, what was the next seven going to bring?


	9. Kate's bad day, part 2

Chapter nine

**Kate's P.O.V**

**Hour three, 2:00 in the afternoon...**

The hour had gone by, and neither me or Ashley said a word to each other. I can credit not having to answer a lot of calls, or get up a whole bunch for that though. But still, I wished I had owned a gun that way I could have shot her. Still with silence filling the room, I noticed her getting up quietly, after receiving some text message on her little fancy pink touch pad phone. She glared at me briefly, and left the room for Zak's office. "Of course, how could I have been so stupid in thinking it was the doctor calling to say he was upping her dosage of nice pills!" I thought sarcastically. She left the room, slamming Zak's office door behind her. I was so relieved to have a few minutes to myself in peace! I hurried and checked my e-mails and saw the old e-mail from my dean still sitting in the inbox. "Ugh! I forgot!" More problems to deal with, but I didn't want to dare ask him for any favors now, especially while he's acting mean. I signed off, and that's when I heard the sound of a door creaking open slowly. I braced myself for Ashley's evil expression, or comment before she passed by, but it wasn't Ashley who was coming out, it was Nick. He opened his office door slightly, and looked out towards me to see if Ashley was there. He saw she wasn't and made a gesture with his hand for me to come over. I wasted no time, and was in his office before I knew I left my own desk.

**Nick's P.O.V**

From the minute I looked at her, I could tell the session with Ashley wasn't going so well. I asked her to sit down, and prepared myself for whatever news she had for me. "Hey," I said softly, "how's life with Zak's main squeeze treating you?" She almost lost her ability to whisper, she wanted to yell so badly, but she kept herself quiet, since my office is located right next door to Zak's. She closed her eyes and cleared her throat, as she began to explain to me what had happened in only the two hours she had been in. "Nick, that woman is a psycho demon from hell!" I almost smiled when she said 'psycho demon,' but she would have killed me for my bad timing for laughter. "What happened out there? I thought I could hear wrestling," I asked, not ready or expecting the strange answer she was going to give me. "There was, I went into the closet to get my mp3 player, after a whole hour of her getting suspicious at me for weird things, and she wrestled my mp3 out of my hands, and smashed it on the ground! My brother Mickey gave it to me!" "What was she getting so worked up about before you got your mp3 player out?" "Turning my computer and monitor on," she replied angrily.

"Why did she destroy your mp3 player?" I asked. "Because she's Satan!" I couldn't help myself but smile. It wasn't because of Kate's mp3 player getting destroyed, it was because of how she was talking about Ashley. I always had thought she was evil, and it was about time someone came up and said she was like Satan. "And to top it all off," she began to say as she made angry gestures with her hands, "Zak has been acting like a total jerk to me all day!" That surprised me, I had no idea he was doing that to her. I knew what he had planned to do for Ashley that day, but rudeness towards this young girl? I was angry to hear this, I already felt bad that the new girl had to face his pre Madonna girlfriend, but now he was treating her meanly. I asked her what he was doing, and was shocked by what she told me. "He's been very bossy, and has made rude comments and reply's to every question I have asked him!" "Like what?" I asked, "he told me to 'go get her whatever she needs', and that's a stupid thing to ask me to do! He didn't say it very nice either." "What about the rude comments you said he made?" "I asked him what he had meant by what he commanded me, and he replied to me and I quote: 'are you deaf?' I couldn't believe my ears! He was so nice yesterday Nick, what's wrong with him?" She looked at me with apparent sadness and hurt in her eyes. I was at first willing to do this for Zak, but not at the expense of hurting Kate. This whole thing was going to insult her enough, this wasn't going to be added next. Before I sent her back to work, I walked over to where she was sitting, and placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. I said in a quiet soft tone, "I'm very sorry for all of this, especially the way Zak is acting, I'm going to go and talk to him when he goes on break, just hold until then. Alright?" She smiled as she looked up at me. She stood up and gave me a hug for appreciation. I couldn't help myself but blush when she did. I felt like I was making her feel she had me as a friend already. I already liked her the minute I got to show her around the building. "Thanks Nick, I could really use the help," she said in a sad, yet comforted tone. I leaned to her ear and replied, "your welcome," I watched her leave my office quietly, not wanting to get Ashley's attention from inside Zak's office, and smiled still with obvious red on my face.

**Kate's P.O.V**

I felt really comforted knowing Nick and Aaron where on my side, I only wished Zak felt the same. I was kinda scared to think about what on earth he would do once Nick told him off, but I'm not somebody who takes verbal abuse like that. I sat back at my desk, and began to work on my PC, and of course, that's when Ashley came back. She left Zak's office, and blew a kiss right before she shut the door. She sat back down in her original spot, and began fixing her hair, and wiping off her smeared lip gloss. I knew why she came out a sight like that, and felt really jealous. She saw me looking at her sharply, and said in that wonderful obnoxious voice of her's, "why are you looking at me like that? You gonna cry since I accidentally dropped your little toy?" I bit my tongue and replied, "no, just working." She rolled her eyes and opened her purse to take out her lip gloss. She began to roll it on, making kissing like noises she made loud enough for me to hear, knowing they where annoying me. Almost like she was an animal. But since I was raised by humans, I didn't allow her little pokes at me to bother me. Instead, I began to hum the tune to my favorite Hawk Nelson song: Everything you ever wanted, to tune out her little annoying noises.

**Ashley's P.O.V **

Her humming was really beginning to get on my nerves! I didn't stand for it, I told her in a stern voice, "Stop humming! That's a stupid song!" She looked at me very offended, and replied, "That happens to be a Christian song!" "I don't care!" I replied, "just stop!" She quickly looked back at her little computer screen, and did whatever the heck it is she does all day!

I can't believe Zakky wants her to work with him! That little tramp! If she thinks she could ever be a match for me and my good looks, not to mention my intelligence, she's got another thing comin'! I so totally want her fired! If she does one thing to tick me off, she's dead!

**Kate's P.O.V**

'Seriously?' I thought, "this woman is spying on me and breaking my things, and she tells me to stop humming my Christian song?" I found her comments about my music a little bit over the line. I loved my music, and the beautiful message it sends was something I needed for everyday of my life, especially today! I finally decided to begin to stand up for myself if she made anymore vain's in my head begin to beat anymore than they already where.

**Hour six, 5:00 in the afternoon...**

Three hours had gone by, and Ashley hasn't spoken a word to me! Could I be dreaming? I had never been so happy in my entire life! But that all changed when the phone rang. We both looked at the phone and to my horror, it was Zak's line calling. I was either gonna get rude remarks from him, or a trip to Azkaban from Ashley, or I'll get fired weather or not I chose to answer the phone. but I did not want to bow down to her no matter what! I reached forward and picked the phone up with her eyes fixed on me. I held it up to my ear, and said in a very patient, yet fast tone, "yes mister Bagans?" There was silence on the other line for a minute, but then he replied sounding meaner then before, "Kate, if Ashley gets hungry, get her something to eat! I don't care if it's across the street, or town, get it!" He hung up rudely after that. I almost had a heart attack! I ain't gonna be this demons butler now! I slammed the phone down on the receiver trying not to yell. She obviously didn't know what he had asked of me, otherwise her reply would have been nicer. "Why is he calling you little girl?" I looked at her ready to give her a good punch in the nose, but I replied, "nothing! Chill! He told me to get you food if you want it!" She smiled and sat back down in her seat, replying in her spoiled tone, "okay, well then, go to Wendy's and get me a fat free salad." I almost screamed and yanked her hair out of her head by her extensions, but the chance of getting away from her even for a few minutes, was almost like someone telling me to go outside, and once there, you'll be in Heaven! I didn't hesitate, spending three bucks on her little fat free salad was better then sitting with her for another second. I grabbed my purse, and asked before heading out the door, "what do you want in your salad?" "Lettuce, and croutons," she replied. I waited for a minute for her to tell me what else, but apparently, that was all! "That's it?" I asked with an eyebrow raised. "Yes! That's a fat free Salad! Go now little girl!" She yelled back.

"Okay, I'll go, be back in a few minutes." I replied. I walked out the glass doors and as soon as I was in the safety of the elevator, I said to myself out loud, "one bowl of lettuce and toasted bread, with a pure lard dressing coming up little witch!" I also took that opportunity to scream to the top of my lungs.

It was about time for Zak's break, so he got up and left his office for the lounge. He walked out of his office, and saw Ashley was gone. :She must be in the bathroom or something," he thought. He made his way to the elevator and headed down to the lounge. Nick could hear Zak's door ope, and hurried out to catch him, but he ran into Aaron who was also leaving for a break. "Hey Nick, where you heading? Your break isn't for another hour," asked Aaron, unaware of what was going on. "I need to go and talk to Zak real quick, he's been acting like a jerk all day according to Kate." Aaron,s happy expression became a surprised one. "What do you mean?" He asked. "don't have time to explain, I' going to go and talk with him now." Nick replied heading out the door. "Let's switch breaks than! I'll take your later, and you take mine now so you have time to talk with him!" Aaron cried. "Thanks!" Nick replied, as he pushed the wooden doors out of his way.

**Nick's P.O.V**

I was ready for whatever Zak had to throw at me, as I walked briskly down the hallway eager to give him a peace of my mind. "What's he thinking? He's treating her like a rag doll!" I thought as the rage built up inside me. Zak is an awesome guy, and a true friend of mine, I don't want her quitting, or even thinking he's like this! I couldn't figure out why he was acting this way. Any way I thought about it, I couldn't come close to figuring it out. I saw the door ahead of me, and could even hear Zak talking to someone on his cellphone. I didn't care about waiting, I busted in with a frown on my face and questions needing to be answered. He looked at me for a minute like I was crazy, and than he saw my face. He motioned with his hands for me to wait, but I shook my head and mouthed the words, "now," to him with my look on my face still firm with unhappiness. He hung his phone up and starred at me for a minute waiting for me to start talking. I shut the door and walked right up to him. "Nick, what's wrong?" He asked. "Zak, we need to talk about this whole Ashley thing," I replied with my arms folded. He could see I was angry about something, so he sat down with me on one of the couches to figure out why. "Why are you angry Nick? I can tell your unhappy about something." I didn't hesitate for a moment, and went on with what I had promised to do for Kate. "Zak, Ashley is really coming down hard on Kate, and from what she has told me, your being a real big jerk." He looked at me like he didn't know what I was talking about.

"What are you talking about?" He asked. "Kate came in my office, and told me Ashley has not only been rude, and even has broken her mp3 player, you have also been acting mean and bossy." He was silent, and he looked away from me out the window. When he does that, I know for sure I've caught him red handed. "Zak, she told me you hurt her feelings, I know you want Ashley off her back and yours, but do you really need to be like this?" He didn't say a word. "Man, this whole thing with Ashley isn't worth it to hurt that young girls feelings. Ashley already is treating her like a slave, I can hear everything from my office, and I know you can too." His eyes looked at mine with guilt in them. "Zak, tell me why your acting this way, this was not what you told me this morning what you where going to do." "Nick," he said cutting me off, "I don't want to hurt her at all, I over heard what she said last night to you and Aaron, and I've had this guilt with me all day." I was happy that he wasn't arguing with me, for a while I thought he was going to start yelling at me. "Than tell me why your acting like this," I replied ready for his answer. "Remember when I said I was going to treat her like a colleague? Well, that's what I'm doing." He replied. "But Zak, you don't treat me and Aaron that way!" I replied. "I know, and I mean what I say, I'm gonna treat her the way I treat you guys. I wanna get to know her better, I wanna joke around with her like I do with you two, and I want us to be good friends, but with Ashley watching her like this today, I couldn't risk her job." There was a moment of silence between us. I knew he wasn't doing it to be mean, but still, this couldn't go on this way.

"Dude, you need to do something now, before Ashley gets really crazy, and Kate ends up really hurt. You need to end this thing now." From the way he looked at me he knew I was right. The question now is, what is he gonna do? "I know what to do, follow me."


	10. Taking control

Chapter ten

Zak and Nick rushed for the elevator for the ninth floor. Zak had yet to tell Nick what he was planning on doing, but he knew Zak was going to make the right decision and didn't bother asking him. Zak instead, brought up the subject himself, but didn't go into big detail about it. "I'm going to take her into my office and talk with her privately. When Kate come back, don't let her come in. I know what I need to do so don't worry." Nick nodded and gave Zak a pat on the shoulder to show support. When the doors opened, they instantly could hear Ashley yelling at Aaron from where they where standing. They hurried in through the wooden doors and through the glass doors, and found Ashley yelling at Aaron about something bizarre. "I told you to go and get that for me!" Aaron was backing away slowly trying to get away from her swinging hands that had long two inch nails on them. "Ashley, I'm not a maid, I was just getting some water!" He replied in as calm a voice as he could. "Your supposed to treat me like a lady!" She replied. Watching this made Zak feel even more guilty for allowing her to treat Kate like that. If Ashley had enough in her to scare a big guy like Aaron who was as tall as she was, than what kind of fear could she produce in Kate who was half her size? Zak sighed and went over to Ashley holding her hands to stop her from scratching Aaron's eyes out. "Zak! Punish him, and your little picture girl!" She cried to the top of her lunges. "Ashley," he replied quietly, yet firmly. "Come with me into my office, we need to talk." She looked at him wondering what it was he wanted, she didn't expect to hear what he was about to say. "Fine," she replied, giving both Nick and Aaron a nasty diva look before disappearing behind Zak's door.

"Are you okay man?" Asked Nick. "Yeah, I'm going on that break now man," he replied walking briskly out the door. Nick stood outside Zak's door trying to listen to what he was saying to Ashley. All he could hear was Ashley's voice that sounded very irritated and a bit angry. He couldn't hear Zak's all that well and that made him wonder if she killed him. "What's he saying?" He wondered.

Standing at the long line at Wendy's, Kate was on the phone with Lance telling him about her day. She had to tell someone else other than Nick about how she was being treated. "That's horrible!" Lance cried in total shock. "I know, I don't know if I can handle this anymore buddy," she replied in a stressed out tone. "Have you tried to talk to him?" "No, I can't even tell him about my dean's message, or about my dogs separation anxiety." She replied as she walked slowly down the line. Lance coughed lightly and replied, "Kate, someone from the store you stole the dog food from came by so I gave them the money and explained to them what happened." This didn't surprise her. Jail in her mind sounded like a Jamaican vacation compared to spending another second with Ashley. "That doesn't surprise me, are they going to charge me for potential stealing?" "No, I got your back. They dropped the charges." "Good, I don't need to have a police record next, though I might have one soon for murder." She approached the counter, awaiting for the next worker to come and help her. "Are you going to quit?" Asked Lance. "No, I need this job, I have had bad bosses before so I can handle this. I'll call you back later," She hung her phone up and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm gonna die," she said to herself. A teenager of about sixteen came out with a big goofy smile on his face. "Can I help you miss?" He asked in a flirtatious voice. She didn't even notice his flirting she was so eager to get Ashley that lard filled salad. (Didn't think she would do it did ya?) She took a careful look at the menu hanging above, and replied with a devious smile on her face, "what's your policy on special orders?" He raised an eyebrow and replied, "there is none, my boss won't let me." She knew how to get her way on this one, and she was willing to do it even though she was gonna hate it. She wasn't leaving without that revenge. She looked at him with her eyes looking at him sweetly with her eyelashes batting, and stiffened her lips to make a pout and replied in a flirtatious tone, "not even for little old me?" the boys face turned red and his heart began to beat out of his chest. He struggled to keep himself from falling into her temptation of flirting. "Miss, I can't," She pulled on his neck tie he had on and leaned his face closer to her's replying, "I'll give you my number," with that, he pulled away from her and took out a pen and a piece of paper to take her order down. "What's your order?" He asked in a happy tone. "Lettuce, croutons, and if you can, stir it in with nice fattening mixture of some kind, almost completely invisible please." She replied. "All of our salads are healthy, we don't add in things like that normally. I can melt in some butter and shortening if you want me to though," "Whatever flows your boat," she replied. He ran to the back screaming at the chef to hurry with the special order. Like a flash, he ran back out and gave Kate her order. She smiled and gave him five dollars for the order. "Thanks," she said as she headed out the door. "Your welcome, I'll call you on my break!" When she was making her way to her car, she smiled and said to herself with a laugh, "that was so gross and unladylike, good thing I gave him a fake number to call me at!"

**Kate's P.O.V**

I actually would have rather given that gross kid my number and gone out with him, than stay with Ashley for another second! This woman has the attitude of nine spoiled girls plus three diva's, and the voice of a thousand screaming banshee's! As I drove down the road, I rolled the window down to take in the evening air. I took it all in and tried to let go of the anger I had towards her. "This woman is going to be the death of me," I thought. I made it back to the studio to deliver my little surprise and to get the last of my job done. I rolled my eyes when I passed by her pink car that looked like a giant dead flamingo on wheels. I stood in the elevator after making my way past the still busy studio, and prepared for more rudeness and nastiness from miss "I'm all that". "Only a few more hours to go," I kept telling myself as I walked down the hallway. With the lard mountain salad in hand, I pushed the doors open and headed into the reception area, to find no one there. I could, however, hear some loud voices coming from Zak's office. The only thing that came to mind was that she was making something up to get me fired. "Great! All this effort for nothing!" I thought as I balled my fist. Nick must have heard me come in and ran out his office to see me. "Hey," he said quietly. I looked up at him with a great amount of concern on my face and asked, "Nick, what's going on in there?" He smiled and said happily, "I had a talk with Zak, and he's talking to Ashley now." I couldn't believe my ears. "Really?" I said with surprise in my tone. "Yeah, I told you I'd help." he replied winking at me. I placed the bag and my purse on a nearby chair, and hugged Nick tightly. I couldn't help myself I was so happy something about her was being done. "You don't know how much this means to me!" I said happily. "Your welcome," he replied hugging me back. "Why don't you get some work done in peace now," he suggested. "Alright, thanks a lot!" I replied heading over to my desk. He disappeared behind his door while I went back to work in peace.

I felt really happy and defended since Nick had stepped in to help me, I really felt we where going to be awesome friends, if I don't quit over Zak's attitude. Ashley had still been inside Zak's office for sometime now, and the yelling was still heard outside where I was. After about thirty minutes, the yelling stopped and the door came flying open. Ashley came out and shut the door tightly closed behind her. I looked up at her and said in my usual polite voice, "Ashley, I got your salad for you," she looked at the bag, and completely walked by it. Instead she went for her big pink purse that sat on desk beside it. She picked it up and looked at me with an unusual look in her eyes. It was almost... nicer than it usually was, but an attempted nice like the kind you really have to force out yourself when your angry. She took in a deep breath and began to say in a calmer yet still irritated voice, "Kate, I'm leaving now, I'm sorry for the way I treated you and for breaking your mp3 player." I was stunned, "what did he say?" I wondered. I knew he had forced that apology out of her and it wasn't from the heart, but I was raised to be forgiving. So I nodded my head and said politely, "Apology accepted," she didn't acknowledge my response, she quickly left in a hurry to get away from me as quickly as possible. I smiled and felt justice for me had been served. Question now is, what did Zak say to her?


	11. I'm sorry

Chapter eleven

The last two hours of Kate's job flew by fast, she found herself done with all her work by seven forty five instead of eight. With her job done for the day, it was time to pack it up and leave. She grabbed her things and went over to Aaron's office door and knocked on it loudly. He opened it a second later with a big smile on his face. "Your leaving now?" He asked. "Yeah, with Ashley gone now, I got my job done faster." She replied. He came out and gave her a huge hug without warning. Looks like they where already warming up to each other. "See you later, I'm sorry about this whole embarrassing day." Aaron said, with a slight chuckle in his voice. "It's alright, I'll see you tomorrow," she replied with a smile. Nick was also getting ready to leave and came out of his office right as she was going to knock on his door. He saw her with her coat and purse in hand and said, "your leaving now?" "Yeah, I just had this talk with Aaron," she replied. He bent down and gave her a hug. "See ya around, I hope I was a help to you today." He said with a smile. "You where, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it." She replied. He looked at her face and saw how happy she looked. Her smile was bright and showed appreciation. He felt some butterflies in his own stomach while he gazed at her. "Well, I'll let you go now," he said as he hurried for the door. "Bye," she said with a smile and wave. He turned back and waved back at her. Right before she left, she heard a door opening. She thought maybe it was Aaron coming back out of his office, or Nick coming back for something, but it wasn't any of them, it was Zak looking very upset and guilty.

**Kate's P.O.V**

I looked up at him wondering what he wanted. One thing that was different, was that he looked very upset about something. All he did when he came out was stare at me like he had never met me before in his life. I looked back up at him waiting for whatever he wanted to say. He finally got up the courage to speak and said very quietly, "hey," "hey," I replied giving him a half smirk. He obviously knew I wasn't happy with him, so he stayed silent for a minute carefully choosing what he next wanted to say to me.

**Zak's P.O.V**

"What could I honestly say?" I wondered, "I was a jerk all day, there's nothing I can say to her to make it better!" But I had to do something, so I began to say whatever came to my mind as I looked down at her sad little face. "Kate, before you go, I need you to come into my office really fast, is that okay?" I waited a minute while she was silently thinking. "Okay," she replied quickly. We went into my office and shut the door making sure Aaron wasn't going to come by and listen. I sat down at my desk chair, while she sat across from me with her head down and her arms folded. The embarrassment was almost to much for me, running was actually what I wanted to do, but if I was going to be her friend then I needed to start apologizing like one. I took in a deep breath and began to say again, what came to my mind. "Kate, I know I've acted like a jerk all day," "yeah, you have." she replied sharply, cutting me off. "I deserved that," I thought. I waited a minute for her to cool down since she was obviously getting angry with me. After a second or two, I continued my apology. "Kate, I'm sorry, I feel really bad about how I've acted today." She actually to my surprise, looked up at me and just stared looking obviously hurt and offended. I was worried she wouldn't even bother to come into work tomorrow, let alone acknowledge me in any good way, and that one look from her told me she was listening in a good way. I jumped at that opportunity of attention and replied, "I have a reason why I did it," I waited a moment and she replied very quietly, "why?" I felt worse when she said 'why', because she sounded very hurt and scared when she said it. I immediately began to explain myself before I got choked up. "Ashley didn't want to see me pal around with you to much, so I figured if I acted like a bossy boss to you, she wouldn't accuse you or me of anything, but I think, no... I know I went to far," She kept her gaze on me as a thinking look came upon her face. She looked at me intently and replied, "Zak, why didn't you say anything to me about it? I would have played along," "Because the embarrassment was bad enough for me as it was, and I didn't want to get you involved with anymore then you already had to." I hoped that the explanation I gave her was going to be enough to help my cause. I really didn't know what else to say to her at this point. I just waited while she thought to herself for a minute.

**Kate's P.O.V**

Zak's explanation to me actually had made sense, 'cause I knew he must have had a good reason for acting the way he was, unless he was a jerk... Okay, I had NO idea he was acting mean for that reason! This surprised me some, but not to much. That woman could make tree's get up and run away from her if she tried to reach and pick an apple from one of them. And since I am a forgiving person, I accepted Zak's apology. "It's okay mister Bagans, I forgive you." He looked at me with kinda wide eyes. I guess he thought I was going to hate him forever or something. "Huh, really?" He asked, unsure if I was being truthful. I smiled and replied, "yes. I am a forgiving person, and I'm not going to stay sour over something like this." I waited a minute for him to process everything I just said. Then he stuck his hand out to shake mine. "Can we bury the hatchet now?" He asked. I smiled and took his hand to shake it. "Yes, it was already buried when it first came up!" He smiled at me for a moment, and my stomach began to churn. "What a cute smile," I thought almost blushing crazy red. I released his hand and picked up my bag, that I left on the floor next to my chair. "Well, I need to go, but I'll see you tomorrow mister Bagans," I said as I walked slowly for the door. Right before I left, I turned around and waved at him with a full smile. He sat there for a moment looking at me with a shocked look on his face. I don't know why, I didn't do anything unusual or bizarre, but he still waved back in return. I left feeling better having him apologize to me.

**Zak's P.O.V**

"She accepted my apology?" He thought. I wasn't expecting that, Ashley always stays angry with me for months if I don't notice a new hair style on her. This was very unusual for me, but maybe it's because I am so used to being screamed at by Ashley. It felt good. At least now I know she will be back tomorrow, so I can start to teach her more about paranormal investigating.

**Kate's P.O.V**

Once I got outside, I realized I needed to get gas for my car since I had wasted some on a trip to a car wash to get the marker off my plate, and I needed to go to Sarah and the troll (aka Eric's) house, to get Lyra back. I figured tomorrow was a better day for me to bring up my dean's letter and Lyra's separation anxiety to Zak. So I wasted no time and got on the road to run the last of my errands. I was very tired.

After Kate got Lyra back from Sarah and Eric who she yelled at for the dirty trick he played on her, she headed to the nearest gas station to fill up, and grab something quick to eat for dinner, since Lance was probably not home making anything. She kept Lyra in the car and hurried inside to get her pump filled. There was a rather large line at the counter, so while she waited she went to look for something to buy for a quick dinner. She noticed a small shelf with pre made sandwiches, and went over to see if they where edible since they weren't kept cold. As she looked, she felt the feeling of being watched, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw something outside by her car run by. She glanced out the window that looked out to the front where the pumps where, but she saw nothing except for a kid coming by on his skateboard. "Huh, maybe it was him." She thought, taking a roast beef sandwich of the stand and taking it to the counter. She hurried back outside to fill her car up. She stood by the pump as it began to fill her car's gas tank. She pulled it out of the tank with a thrust and placed it back. She turned to go back to her car, but she bumped into someone much taller than her. She looked up and saw it was Ashley, looking very angry. Her eyes where almost glowing like fire, and that wasn't due to the color or the moon light. Kate didn't know what to do but stare. "Hello Kate," Ashley said in her usual irritated voice. Kate gulped, then replied, "hi Ashley, what are you doing here?" "I'm busy, like you, what did you honestly think?" That kind of creeped Kate out a bit, it was almost like she was saying she was there to kill her. She slowly walked away and made her way to the car door, with Ashley following her from behind. Kate looked back and saw the tall angry blond was following her, so she stopped to finally find out what the deal was.

"Ashley," she began to say firmly, "what's the matter? Why do you not like me, I want to know now!" Ashley kept her gaze sharp on Kate as she began to chuckle. "You honestly think I'm worried YOU of all people are going to take my Zakky away from me? No chance! Your short, fat, not to mention WAY to young for him, ugly, and your really really ANNOYING and STUPID!" Kate didn't flinch from those insults. Of course, they hurt her feelings, but she wasn't going to stand for Ashley's behavior no longer. "Ashley, that was not nice, I know he forced that apology out of you tonight, what part of this is right in your eyes?" "I was just there to demonstrate how much me and Zak love each other!" Kate waved her arms around as she replied, "yes! I know! I'm not trying to take him from you! I swear, I have absolutely no interest in him!" Ashley approached her and bent down to her eye level. "Look, I came out here to tell you something now, so later, maybe we can avoid some trouble." She leaned in closer and held her mouth up to Kate's ear, and whispered softly yet angrily, "stay away from Zak, he's mine. If I catch you doing anything with him that's flirtatious or risque, I'm going to make you pay!" With that, she walked off with her hands on her hips.

Kate stood there with her eyes wide open. "That woman!" She thought, "I knew this whole thing was to good to be true!" It wasn't a surprise to her, she knew Ashley hadn't apologized from the heart, and she already knew Zak wasn't interested in her, so she really wasn't surprised to have Ashley come and threaten her like that. Kate got back in her car and headed for home. It was time to put this day behind herself. She wanted to go home and explain to Lance what had happened so he doesn't think he sent her to a bad verbally abusive job. "What am I going to do about this woman?" She wondered. Ashley came back into her mind often on the drive home. She knew Zak was taken, but both he and her wanted to become friends. "I guess I'm gonna have to work my way around her somehow so I can have a friend.

Jealousy began to brew inside her when she used the word 'friend'. Her feelings where going to have to be covered and hidden, or her job, reputation at work and society was on the line. She never expected to fall so hard for a guy she barely even knew, especially one who was over nine to ten years older than her! When she almost made the turn home, a cop car began to chase her again. She looked up at her mirror and cussed in her head, wondering what on earth was wrong now. She pulled over to the side and the same cop from earlier that day approached the car. He bent down looking very angry. "You need to explain to me why your license plate has been written over again!" He cried. Her jaw dropped as she quickly, with his permission, came out of the car to view the damage. She thought it was Eric again, but what was written on the plate made it obvious that it was Ashley who came by and did it. What was written on the plate was the word: 'Slut'. She looked back at the angry officer wondering how she was going to explain this one to him.


	12. Building friendships

Chapter twelve.

After a long days worth of dealing with Ashley's bad girl attitude, dealing with Zak's attitude crisis, and having been stopped twice by the same cop to explain why her license plate was written over, she finally made it back home after convincing the cop she wasn't a prostitute stealing someone's car. She also was able to explain to Lance why Zak had acted the way he did towards her.

Over the next week of working, Kate had gotten along great with Nick and Aaron, though Zak was a little shy and kept himself more distant from her. She and Aaron often got their breaks together and would talk about gossip and make jokes. I would say they probably got close the fastest since they spent more of their time together. Nick, as well as Aaron, would come out while she worked and sat down to talk and make jokes with her. Like I said, Zak was a lot more shy, and tried to keep himself from getting to close to her, fearing he would start to crush on her more then he already was.

Kate told him about her dean's letter, and Zak took care of that for her. She also told him about Lyra's social anxiety, so he agreed to let her come up to the ninth floor only, and ONLY if she was well behaved. Aaron got a joy with having Lyra around. They all did. It was nice to have an office pet. That's basically how they treated her.

Kate was looking into moving out of Lance's apartment now that she was making a lot more money. Her friends where surprised finding out about her new job, but she didn't get around to telling her brothers about it now, she knew what Logan would say, he would judge unfairly and try to push her into doing something else, while Mickey was a mystery. He would either freak out, or he would congratulate.

Ashley, as I should mention, would come by the office about four times a week to see how things where going. She didn't like how Nick and Aaron got along with her, because she was scared it would tempt Zak to hang out with her more. Her hate for Kate got worse and worse as time went by.

Zak had spent a while thinking about where they're next lockdown should be, and where would be a good place for Kate's first one at that. He finally found one, and he was going to tell his crew.

**Kate's P.O.V**

I got up late this morning since school lasted all day yesterday. I had told the last of my friends yesterday about my new TV job, those including: Michael, and Jona. Jona, my good friend since high school, wasn't to happy finding out I was working as a paranormal investigator and photographer for the GAC. He knew all about that show and didn't want me around Zak, fearing he would try to take me from him. I always had known Jona liked me, even when we where younger, he's just to obvious! I felt bad for him, I had never liked him back in that way, nor did I have the desire, but you can't help but feel bad.

My work schedule is a little better, I get up at ten and have to be in by twelve instead of eleven thirty. Believe me, in my life, half an hour makes a big difference. I got work and school a little bit more balanced out with Nick's help, since he was also my superior. He called the school and found a way to make my work and school schedule a little less stressful, but I still have it hard most of the time making a neutral balance between the two, and I don't know how hard it will be when I start going on lockdowns.

I got up, and skipped breakfast that morning. I put Lyra on her leash and grabbed a few of her toys so she could have something to do in the office. There are cons and pros when it comes to bringing Lyra in the office. On the good side, her social anxiety isn't there anymore, and she gets to spend time with the guys since they like her so much. But on the bad side, she gets a lot more bored being in the office building all day, and I think Aaron is having some allergies to her a little bit.

I ran out to my car and got in. Starting down the road, I noticed my gas tank was almost empty. I had time so I stopped at a seven eleven to fill up. As I filled the tank up, I noticed some people looking at me in a weird way from me, no more then about ten feet away. They where also filling up. I didn't know what they where doing or why they where looking at me that way. I tried hard not to stare, but they're gaze on me was very intent, and I could even see some girls who where in the group whispering to one another.

I hurried as fast as I could to get out of there, but of course, on the day I want to leave immediately, I find out that the pump wasn't even on the entire time it was in my car! "Dang!" I thought. "Now I have to stand here longer waiting for the car to fill!" The people, who by the way where a group of about three teenage girls and two boys, where still looking at me and whispering. I saw some of the girls rolling their eyes, and some of the guys looking at me from top to bottom, like they where checking me out. I wasn't at all comfortable with this, but I held my tongue.

One of the girls, began to slowly walk towards me looking very curious. I figured that would probably happen the longer I stood there. I turned to her as she stopped about three feet from me. She smiled and pulled a strand of neon pink dyed hair behind her ear and asked me, "hey, are you with ghost adventures?" "Of course!" I thought in my mind." "That's why they where looking at me! But how did they know I was apart of the crew, if I hadn't been on a lockdown yet?" I smiled and replied, "yeah, I am. Why are you asking?" She smiled and bit a lip, turning back to her friends giving them a hand signal. They all then came over and began to ask me a swarm of questions some I didn't feel comfortable answering.

"How did you get the job?" "How old are you?" "Are you going to be on lockdowns?" "Are you and Zak dating?" "Are you single?" "Are you trying to steal Zak from Ashley."

I interrupted the attack of never ending questioning, by raising a hand to silence the talking. I quickly answered each one, and after, hurried back to my car. I didn't tell them my age, I told them it was luck that got me the job, I told them yes I was going to be going on the lockdowns, No I am not dating Zak, yes I am single, and no I am definitely not trying to steal anyone from anybody.

"Honestly," I thought to myself, as I parked my car in the studio parking lot, "how can anybody feel comfortable asking other people about their business?" I took Lyra out of the car, and hurried into the building. Because of that interruption, I was now almost five minutes late for work.

**No ones P.O.V**

The office was a lot more busy then it usually was. It was because it was time to start planning the next lockdown, and that took everyone's effort, especially... if you thought 'the receptionist,' you got it right! Kate made it inside her office slash main room, and found Aaron sitting at her office chair trying to log into her computer. "Hey!" She yelled in a joking voice. He put his hands up in the air and slowly backed away from the desk as if he was being arrested. "I'm sorry!" He cried pretending to cry. "What are you trying to do?" She asked, as she went over to her computer to see if he actually got in. "I just thought maybe I could help plan the lockdown for you some. Your a little late, and Zak usually asks the receptionist to schedule the flights, hotel reservations, etc." He replied. She sat down and logged herself in. "How can I do it if I don't even know where we are going?" She asked. Aaron was on the floor petting Lyra and rubbing her belly. "Well, that's what Zak was planning on doing when you came in, he wanted to have a group huddle to discuss the plans." He replied as he stroked Lyra's belly. "Do you know then where we are to go?" "Yeah, he kinda told me yesterday, you'll like it."

Zak and Nick both came out of their offices and Zak ordered for everyone to come stand by him. Kate and Aaron went over immediately. Nick smiled and greeted Kate giving her a hug. "Hey, your late, run into the cops again?" He asked with a laugh. "No," she replied giving him a playful punch. She looked up at Zak who was smiling at her not saying a word. This was how he was greeting her everyday, she didn't expect that to change at all. It was a normal thing for her, but little did she know why he was so quiet.

Zak cleared his throat, and began to explain where the lockdown location was. "Okay guys, I know it's taken a while for me to figure out where our next lockdown is going to be, but I have had a lot to consider since Kate hasn't ever been on one before." He said, as he pointed at Kate. "But, I have found an awesome place for us. It's located in Anderson Missouri, and it's called the: "Joy Drama Theater". "What's that?" Asked Kate, curious about the place. "It's an old abandoned theater that converted to a brothel, back in the mid nineteenth century. It is said to have a lot of paranormal activity there, especially on the stage where the prostitutes would dance for the guests." Nick replied. "What an interesting first lockdown for me, an abandoned brothel, what a memorable start for me!" She replied with a smile. The guys chuckled from her joke, and went back to discussing the plans. Zak read from a list of instructions he had in his hand for his team mates to do for him. "Aaron, you need to make sure we have enough batteries and the right equipment for the lockdown. They won't allow certain things to be used in the building so read this list while your at it." Zak commanded as he handed Aaron the list. Arron hurried to start the job that was assigned to him. "Nick, go into town and buy from this list equipment for Kate, she needs the basic stuff and I don't have any spares for her." He ordered handing Nick a list also. "Alright, see ya later." He said as he hurried out the door. Finally, it was Kate's turn. "Okay, you need to book the flight for tomorrow, and find us a hotel we can stay at for a day. I also need you to get us a rental car, try to get us an SUV preferably black or dark blue if you can." He instructed. "Alright," she replied walking back to her desk, but then a thought came to mind. "Hey Zak," he looked back at her right before he shut his office door. "Yeah?" "Lyra needs to come with me or her social anxiety will kick in. Is it okay if she comes with us?" He thought about it for a second and replied, "I'll think about it, I'll let you know when I have decided." He disappeared behind the old wooden door. "He always hurries away from me," she thought. "I can't even come within five feet of him without him moving himself away another twenty! Maybe it has something to do with Ashley." She sat down at her computer and began to look into the work her asked her to do.

**Kate's P.O.V**

I didn't ever expect to be booking flights and hotels in this job, nor did I ever think I would even get it, but you can't complain about it once you have it, I was very fortunate to have it. A lot of people would have probably scrubbed a toilet out with their own toothbrush to get into show business. I wasn't going to complain though, I can book flights and hotels and anything else as long as I didn't have to be around Ashley.

It didn't take long for me to book the flight, nor the hotel rooms, but the rental car was a bit harder since they didn't have what Zak specifically requested. So I had to look around more. I finally found one place that had the car he wanted, but it took over forty five minutes!

After I got done booking this and that, I logged into my e-mail page to see if there where any reply's from the landlords I sent e-mails to in regards to available apartments they had. I scrolled through, and found a total of seven e-mails. One by one I clicked on them, and looked through the available spaces they had.

I was looking for something modern yet classic. I'm not someone who likes to have giant blocks and cubes as decorations, nor am I someone who wants flowers and pretty pink curtains everywhere. I wanted something that was as close by school and possibly work, and had a decent view on a nice location. But you can't really be picky, right?

I couldn't find a single apartment I liked in all seven e-mails. Either the apartments where in dangerous parts of the city, or they where beat up and old. "What do I have to do to find a decent place to live?" I wondered. Then, the phone on my desk rang, with Zak on the line. I picked it up and answered as I scrolled through more apartment photos. "Hello?" "Kate, head in here real fast please," "okay," I got up and left my desk, leaving the internet page where it was for more viewing when I returned.

I opened his door slowly and walked in. He was sitting at his desk as usual looking intently at his computer screen. Zak's office was pretty dark despite the huge window sitting behind him, gazing out to the shore. In fact, I don't even think he likes having bright light filling his room or any place. It was a pretty spacious office, a decent sized desk and a big closet full of whatever he kept in it, and the ceiling fan spun at a low speed. His bookshelf, that sat to the right side of his office by a huge rubber tree plant, needed some serious organization. Papers and scripts, books and maps, a few cd's and crumpled up pieces of paper, pretty much told me he wasn't very clean let alone organized. His desk was full of so many things, he barely had the ability to rest his elbows on the desk. But however an office may look, it's the person working in it that matters, and despite his shyness and distant behavior, he was always very polite and welcoming.

"Kate, sit down for a sec," he said as he typed away on his pc. I quickly sat down and waited for him to begin speaking again, after he had not said anything for a good minute after I sat. "I thought about Lyra, and I don't know if she should come, animals are really not fit to be in paranormal places or situations." I raised a hand to protest, and it caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. "Mister Bagans, I have taken her with me several places, she is very sensitive to paranormal energy." His gaze left the screen, and it came over to me. He took his hand off his keyboard and placed it under his chin. "And how is that?" He asked looking curious. I began to explain to him how often I had taken her to haunted locations and how she reacts when there. He was amazed and surprised. "She really can handle those things?" "Yeah, she's not afraid of anything, I really think it would be a cool thing to incorporate into the lockdown. Could we try it out?" He began to think hard about it, and decided it was alright. "Alright, I'll allow it once, and if she does okay I'll let her come with us from now on." "Thank you mister Bagans, this helps me a lot." I said with a smile. I got up to leave hurrying for the door and before I left, Zak called me once more. I looked back at him, standing halfway out the door awaiting for a reply from him. "Call me Zak," he said with a smile. I smiled and nodded, quickly leaving before he could see the red on my face.

**Nobody's P.O.V**

He called her in a few hours later before her break, and asked her if she did what he asked her to do. She told him the flight was to leave at nine o clock tomorrow morning, that she got the car he requested, and where they where going to stay that would allow dogs. He was happy to see her get her job done fast and efficient.

She spent the rest of her day looking at apartments online, since she didn't have a lot to do that day. She thought about the lockdown, though, and wondered if she could really handle being locked in for an entire night. The other houses she went to, didn't make her stay a whole night, so she had the option to leave. It would be embarrassing to start screaming and running during the lockdown, that was the biggest part of the job. Staying focused and taking as many professional pictures as she could to obtain the much needed evidence.

Lyra, on the other hand, was a totally different story. Either she would react badly, or not at all. She didn't want Zak or the guys to think she was lying about Lyra's sensitivity to paranormal energy. One way or another, it was all to be revealed tomorrow night at the lockdown location.

While she waited for her computer to shut down, she began to fix her hair into a bun. Nick came in through the glass doors, after being gone most of the day. He had with him in his hands a few small boxes, and an old looking book. "Hey, come here for a second." He said with a smile, and with some excitement in his tone. She went over looking at the boxes and the book he placed on a small end table that sat by Aaron's office door. The book was titled: 'paranormal equipment'. He opened one opened one of the boxes, and began to pull out basic paranormal investigation gear. Those including: an EVP recorder ( standing for: 'electronic voice phenomena' ), a digital recorder, and an EMF detector. She could tell what they where since she had read about them in books about paranormal study.

He took the equipment out one by one, and showed her what they where. "Cool huh? We use these tools for our lockdowns, and since your our newest member, it's only fair that you have your own set to, right?" He said handing her the EVP recorder. She looked down at it and was amazed. "Wow Nick, I don't know what to say, thanks." She said, placing it back in the box, and carefully looking at each device one by one. "Your welcome," he replied. Then he picked up the old dusty book and handed it to her. It was heavy, and looked like it had gotten run over by a truck, and it smelled like it was over 200 years old. "Take this, and read it. It will tell you all you need to know about the equipment, what each piece is used for, and how to use them. We'll teach you ourselves of course how it works tomorrow night, but it's better to have an understanding of what each piece can at least do." She took the book out of his hands surprised by how heavy it was to hold. "I'll read it, I'm already a little familiar with the equipment though, since I have some books at home with some detail about equipment." "Well, that's good, but the tools I'm giving you aren't the only ones you'll use the more experience you gain. There is so much more out there to use when conducting a ghost hunt, and more is made all the time. Read through it for a while and look at some of the more high tech things out there." He replied tapping a finger on top of the book. She nodded her head and placed the book under the box. "Okay, I'll do that."

Zak came out of his office getting ready to head home, just like the rest of his crew. He saw Nick and Kate standing together looking at a page in the book Nick gave Kate to read. "Hey Nick," he said loudly. "Did you get her the stuff?" "Yeah, I did, she's also gonna read the book we had to read." He replied pointing down at it. "I remember that dusty old thing," he replied getting his coat off the hanger. "I'll never read that old thing again, now with the newer versions out there and all." Kate looked at Nick and said, "why am I reading an old outdated version of the basics than?" Zak chuckled, and Nick began to smile. "Basics in this book are good, nothing wrong with old school!" "Yeah, but what if I end up holding something used to record sound up to my ear thinking it will make sound?" She replied with a smile and a laugh.

Nick's grin grew wider until he began to laugh from her joke. "Oh man! I remember when I used to do that!" Nick cried as he laughed. "Same here!" Zak replied joining in the laughing. She looked up at Zak with her jaw almost hanging open completely, and watched him laugh. "He has such a cute smile and laugh!" She thought, stopping herself from starring. Nick placed a hand on her shoulder and pat it, while still laughing from old memories of his beginning years as a ghost hunter. "You'll be fine, just read through it and you'll find out all kinds of cool stuff." He said calming his laughter. "Yeah fine, but don't laugh at me or pick on me if I really actually do something like that!" She replied picking the book and box up.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, tell Aaron if you see him I said bye!" She said a she left the office with Lyra following alongside her. "Bye," Nick replied with a wave. He looked back at Zak who was starring at the door frozen solid. "Dude!" Nick cried, breaking Zak's focus. "What?" He asked, almost like he was unaware of what he just did. "How can you expect me to believe you don't like her, if your starring at the door like that?" "I don't like her man," he replied, getting once again angry about the subject. "Drop it and let it go!" Nick shrugged his shoulder and replied, "fine, whatever you say dude.

**Kate's P.O.V**

When I was lying in my bed, about half past eleven, I was thumbing through the book Nick let me borrow for study. Despite how old and dusty it was, it sure had a lot of interesting stuff in it! Though, the old pictures where a little scary, I was still able to read it without getting scared. Pictures are less scary then what I was about to do the same time the next night.

The house was in a dead silence. Lance was knocked out asleep, and Lyra had just now fallen asleep after her nightly belly rub. The only thing I could hear was the TV that was still on in Lance's bedroom, that was next to mine. It wasn't loud, but I could tell he had it on ghost adventures. It made me think more about the lockdown, and about Zak. I got along so well at work with Aaron and Nick. Aaron to me, was like an older brother, he may have made playful flirty remarks or actions, but to me he was like a big teddy bear. Nick, once I got to know him more, was really cool and reliable. He enjoyed my company a lot and we had a lot to talk about when we had the chance to chat. Zak today, seemed a little more open, maybe he's a lot more shy then he lets on. Maybe after a while he'll open up to me more. I know Ashley is probably the main reason why he's so distant from me, and y the way he came by and laughed with me and Nick, that may actually be the reason why. I'm sure we could be great friends if he would open up more. I would like us to at least be that. 'cause that's probably as far as I'll ever get, compared to what I imagine in my little fantasy world I go to when I'm day dreaming.

I shut the lights off after reading the fourth chapter and slept, preparing for tomorrow night's lockdown at the Joy Drama Theater.


	13. Leaving for the lockdown

Chapter thirteen

Lance was making breakfast in the kitchen about seven o clock that morning, listening to his usual talk show. Nothing in particular caught his attention as he went along and made Belgian waffles, until the show host brought up a topic involving ghost adventures. "And have you seen the little lady the guys of the GAC recently recruited?" The man yelled. Lance stopped stirring the mixture and turned his head towards the radio sitting by the waffle iron. "She's sure a cutie! Our sources have confirmed she will be on the next episode when the guys go and investigate an old abandoned theater turned brothel." "I don't know about you, but I'm excited to see how the dynamics will change now that a girl is on the team!"

"Wow!" Lance cried. "I know a celebrity!" "What celebrity?" Asked Kate, as she came into the kitchen with Lyra for breakfast. "You silly!" He cried hugging her. "I just heard the guys on my radio show mention that you where on ghost adventures! Isn't that exciting?" "Lance," she began to say as she fixed Lyra her pet food. "First of all, I am not a celebrity, nor do I want to be treated like one. The guys don't act like hot shot celebrities either. And second, it doesn't surprise me they mentioned me on the radio now, some kids at the gas station stopped me and asked me questions about the GAC and such. So people talking about me is not a surprise." "Your being to serious!" He replied, pouring in the mixture into the waffle iron. "You need to take advantage of what you've gained!" "I'm not going to change who I am for fame, I'm doing this for the photo purposes, and the paranormal purposes."

She sat down at the table and drank from some orange juice she had sitting out for her, while Lance placed bowls of cereal on the table. "Are you at least excited about the lockdown tonight?" "Yeah!" She replied with a smile and laugh. "That's the attitude I want to see! Where are you guys going?" He asked, while flipping the waffles over. "Well, we are going to an abandoned theater turned brothel called the 'Joy Drama Theater'." She replied, taking a bite of her chocolate cereal. "Really? You scared?" "Well,... I'm nervous, and have constant butterflies in my stomach, I have no professional experience, and I have sat up since four this morning not able to sleep reading from an old dusty book Nick gave me to teach me about the tech they use, yeah,... I am a little scared!" "Sounds to me your more scared of looking like a fool, rather than the ghosts." Said Lance as he served the waffles and maple syrup. He sat down across from her and began to drink his morning powdered milk.

"I will also admit this," said Kate as she stirred her cereal looking down into her reflection in the milk. "I am kinda scared about how the media and public will respond to me being a new investigator on the show. Not only will I get bad comments, and even more bad treatment from Ashley, but what will this do to their show? What if I ruin it!" "Kate, your worried to much about things you've come up with in your own mind. The way to approach this is to look at it with a balance." He replied, while chewing on his barely done waffle. "Like how?" "Well, one thing, your going to have good reports and bad ones, that doesn't mean you'll ruin the show. In fact, my radio hosts just said they where excited to see some female action on an all guy show. Maybe you'll show men how tough gals can really be!" She smiled as he continued, "And second, Ashley isn't the queen of the universe. From what you told me, she views herself as one, but she's actually in my eyes as well as your, a scum bag." "You know what? Your right, I'm just being negative about everything like I was when I first applied for this job." She replied sounding a bit more uplifted.

"Now as far as other girls go," He added, as he poured himself some milk into his oat cereal. "Your probably going to get some hate mail from them since most of them watch it for the Zak effect, not really the ghost effect." "I figured that, I'll be in the same boat as any other girl who dates him, and I'm not even dating him!" She replied, stroking Lyra's head as she was sniffing her shoe. "Don't let them get to you though, you have the ability to be mature about it." "And that's exactly what I plan to do," Kate replied finishing the last of her cereal. She tried to cut into her waffle, and found that it was so soft and almost like mush, that she didn't need to. "Lance, this waffle is raw! How long did you cook it for?" She asked, as she examined the goo that dripped from her fork. "Five minutes on high power!" He replied biting into a big mushy piece. "Lance, it's no wonder you got Salmonella last Summer, you're eating raw eggs!" She replied, pushing the plate away from her. "Fine, more waffles for me than!" he said scooping her waffles onto his plate. "Well, while your here at home vomiting," she began to say as she washed her dishes in the sink, "I'll be catching a plane for Anderson Missouri in the next hour and thirty minutes. So if you'll excuse me, I must pack." She left with Lyra following from behind. Lance shook off her vomiting comment and ate away at the waffles, which I'll tell you, will send him to the hospital for Salmonella treatment.

**Kate's P.O.V**

There actually, despite how much time I had to catch the flight, wasn't enough time for me to take my time packing. I made sure I took the essentials like clothes, shoes, and of course all the equipment Nick gave me, but things like Shampoo and soap could be bought at a store in Missouri. I had never been to Missouri, so I had no idea what it was going to be like, let alone the lockdown. I did, however, made sure I took with me Lyra's ear infection medicine. That was to important for me to leave behind. I packed my computer in my carry on, along with the book Nick was having me read, so I could read it more on the plane.

I was told by the guys yesterday, that I need to wear dark colors during the lockdown so that way the night vision on the camera's would work better. Dark colors like black, dark blue, colors dark enough to not mess with the equipment. It's a good thing than that my clothes are all dark colors!

I finished packing, and grabbed Lyra along with my purse, then, I could remember one thing I didn't pack with me, my camera! I hurried to my closet and took out a silver case, containing my good camera and all the lenses and components.

The story behind my camera is a stressful one. I had to work at several jobs to afford it. You see, it was a professional camera, it's digital, and it can take photo's with a zoom that goes as far as thirty feet. It also takes videos, but I already have a camcorder to do that, which by the way I packed with me. The cost of the camera was about $1,800 dollars. It took MONTHS to be able to buy this camera. I rarely used it, unless I had to do a school assignment with it, but in this case, it was just as important to take it with me.

I thought it would be safer in the case, but also harder to transport it since it was so bulky compared to the size of the camera itself, including all the components and lenses. So I got out my camera bag and packed up the camera, the memory sticks, the lenses and all the components I needed, and placed the bag over my shoulder. Okay, I need to make sure I remembered everything!" I thought as my eyes scanned the room. I quickly left for my car now that I was sure I forgot nothing.

Saying goodbye to Lance was hard, he cried before he ran into the bathroom to throw up. I told him not to eat those dang waffles! The airport was a good hour away from my apartment, so I was happy I left when I did. It took a little over and hour to get there due to the mid morning traffic, but I managed to get there within fifteen minutes of take off. I parked my car and hurried inside the busy airport with all my things including Lyra.

Life chose a good day for the airport to be jam packed busy! I couldn't even see the front desk there where so many people. I struggled to get through the crowds that where not only stepping on my feet, but Lyra's paws too. I finally made it through the mob still intact, and handed my ticket over to the woman standing behind the counter. She took it from me along with my boarding pass, then she ordered me to hand her my bags, and pick Lyra up so she could put her in a pet carrier

Lyra hated traveling worse than small dogs! The isolation and the loud noises of the plane engine where bad for her, and of course being handled by strangers. I always worried about losing her, but what if's are not the way to life, not for me anyway. I placed her in the crate, along with a chew toy for comfort, and said goodbye. The woman then gave me back my ticket. "Okay, go to gate 'B' your flight will take off in ten minutes." She said kindly. "Thanks," I replied taking the ticket from her.

I fought through yet another mob of airport passengers and workers, and found after five minutes of searching, where gate B was. I could see in the distance the guys sitting down in a seating area by the gate. Aaron looked like he was looking around for me. I took in a deep breath and went over to greet them.

**Nobody's P.O.V**

Aaron paced the floor looking all over for Kate to see if she was coming yet. Nick and Zak sat together sipping cokes. Aaron turned his head and saw her coming with a smile on her face. "Hey!" He said happily. "Hi," she replied giving him a hug. She let go of him and looked down at Nick and Zak who where still sipping their drinks. They both immediately stopped so they wouldn't look rude. Nick shot up from his seat and gave her a hug to greet her. "Hi, did you get lost?" He asked. "No, the airport lines are just so busy." She replied. Looking up at her with his usual shy look, Zak quietly said after Nick released her from his grip, "hello," "Hi," she replied. "Come sit down while we wait for the plane to start boarding," Aaron said, as he took her hand and lead her to some seats. She sat down next to Aaron in two white seats across from Zak and Nick. She felt a little nervous sitting there with them. Obviously, they all could joke around and such, she knew the other two pretty well after the first week, but Zak she barely knew. "Should I say something?" She thought. She placed her carry on back on the floor with a thud, making Aaron ask her what she had in her carry on that was so heavy to make a noise like that. "What's in the bag?" He asked. "Aaron," Nick began to say with a smirk, "what do you think she has in there?" "I know there's a computer in there, I was just wondering if she had something else with it!" He replied. She began to chuckle as she opened the bag and pulled out the book. "It's the book you gave me to read Nick, I found a lot of useful information in it." She replied holding it up for them to view. "huh, you liked it? I honestly didn't think you would," he replied. "No, I loved it! Huh, I stayed up pretty late reading it." She replied.

She placed it back in her bag, and Aaron went on to asking without Nick's criticizing remarks, "are you excited about the lock down?" "Yeah," she replied. "I'm a little nervous, I don't know to expect, and I have never been inside of a haunted place all night with the doors locked and the lights off before, but other than that, I'm cool." Nick, Aaron and even Zak chuckled at her statements. "I'll show you all you need to know, just listen to me and I'll show you how to do it." Zak said to her surprise. "Just call me your mentor," he added. "Alright," she quietly replied.

A loud voice was than heard over the intercom, announcing it was time to board the plane. The all got up and headed for the gate. She clenched her bag knowing in a few hour's she would be locked inside a haunted place with the GAC for a whole night. What was to happen?


	14. An embarrassing situation

Chapter fourteen

The whole crew sat in first class, which was jam packed full. Kate sat beside Aaron who was drinking some water and eating some of the airline peanuts. Zak and Nick where nowhere to be seen though. She looked around to see if she could spot them. "I can't find them Aaron, they're lost." She stated. "That's cool, we can bond some while we sit here." Aaron replied putting an arm around her. She let him be close with her since she thought of him as an older brother. She was close like this with Mickey and Logan, and it was nice to have Aaron as a friend so soon. "So what's up?" He asked trying to sound cool. "Well, Lance has salmonella, and I think he's gonna die." She said with a laugh. "How did he get it?" Asked Aaron, chuckling along with her. "He didn't cook the eggs in his waffles enough this morning, and when I called him, he was sitting at the toilet bowl throwing up! I feel bad for him." "I remember the worst stomach flu I got back in highschool, it was miserable! I couldn't even blink without getting sick." She started laughing out loud along with him cutting the silence there was despite the amount of passengers on the plane.

Sitting two rows ahead of them, Zak could hear Kate and Aaron laughing about something. "hey, why are they laughing like that man?" He asked, waiting for Nick's response. He didn't get one so he asked again. "Nick, why are they laughing?" No response was heard. He looked to his left where Nick was sitting and saw he had his mp3 player on. He poked him hard on the shoulder to get his attention. Nick jumped and held the spot on his arm that was poked. "Zak, what?" He asked taking hie earbuds out. "Can you hear that laughing?" Zak asked. Nick took a second to listen and could hear Aaron and Kate laughing, and he heard the words 'flu' and 'salmonella' along with it. "Yeah, I think they're making jokes about salmonella and the flu." Nick replied. "Why?" Asked Zak trying to look over the rows. "Dude, who cares? Why do you care so much, you don't even talk to her in the office." "I'm trying to protect her as well as myself from Ashley's wrath! If she found out I was spending time with her like you and Aaron, she would kill me!" He replied sitting back down. "Dude, why let her control you like this? If you want to talk to Kate, talk. Otherwise she's gonna think you don't like her, don't you want to socialize with her?" Asked Nick, opening a book he took out of his carry on. "Well duh!" Zak replied sarcastically. "I do, I just can't." Nick opened the book, and as he thumbed through the pages he replied, "you will, especially now that your going to be her mentor." "What are you talking about?" Zak asked looking confused. "When did I say I was gonna be her mentor?" "When we where on the ground." Nick replied, beginning to read the third chapter of his novel. Zak looked back over and could see Aaron and Kate bonding. He started to feel bad that he wasn't being more social with her. "I don't want to hurt the girls feelings," he thought, as he watched them laugh.

Over the next forty five minutes, Aaron was telling Kate stories about his first lockdown, and some of the accidents Zak had on some of them. She laughed along with him as he explained how he almost flipped himself off a bridge one time trying to film a huge boat sailing by. Zak could still hear the laughs and began to get bothered by it. "Why do I have to do this Ashley?" He wondered. "My life isn't normal,"

The plane landed, and everyone got off. Once the crew got their bags and of course Lyra, they hurried outside to wait for the shuttle to pick them up. As they stood their waiting, Lyra began to bark at a small dog coming by. Kate pulled on her leash commanding her to stop. "Why is Lyra acting like that?" Asked Nick. "She hates little dogs, I don't know why." She replied holding Lyra by the collar. "Quiet!" She said loud and firmly. Lyra immediately stopped and sat down beside her master, not making another sound. The guys where impressed by Lyra's reaction to Kate, they where sure she was gonna break lose and attack the littler dog. "How did you do that?" Asked Aaron, bending down to pet her. "Lyra's a smart dog, most collies are. I have spent time working with her since she was a puppy. Of course, back than she wasn't going to catch on right away, but I knew it would benefit for her later years." She replied, adjusting her camera bags strap with an arm. "Does she know any other tricks?" Asked Nick. "Yeah, I'll have to show you some later." She replied.

The shuttle came and everyone got on board. It was going to take them to a place where they could get the car Kate reserved for them. The driver hurried off down the main road for the rental store. Nick and Zak sat on one side, while Aaron and Kate sat on the other, with Lyra stretched out ontop of Kate's lap, with her tail wagging on Aaron's left leg. "Hey! Stop that!" He said jokingly, as he stroked her belly. Lyra sat up and began to lick his face. "Looks like she really likes you Aaron," said Kate with a smile. "Yeah, she does!" He cried, as he stroked her head. "Down Lyra!" Kate commanded. Lyra stopped and lied on his lap head first this time. "She's a good dog," said Nick leaning over to pet her. She sat up and jumped off the seat running over to Nick. She jumped on his lap and began to lick his face. "Ah!" He cried as he began tpo stroke her body. "Lyra!" Kate cried. She stopped again, returning to her master. "Sorry Nick, she likes you too." "That's fine," he replied wiping his face off.

Zak wanted to make a conversation, or do something that would help him to socialize with Kate, while he thought about how he was gonna become her friend without Ashley getting upset. "I like dogs," he stated. After hearing nothing coming from his mouth, they all looked at him waiting for him to finish speaking, but that was all he thought of saying. He couldn't think of anything else to say. He saw how stupid he sounded just saying those few words, "and I think Lyra's cute." he added quickly. "Oh, do you want to pet her?" Asked Kate, assuming he wanted to pet her. "Yeah," Zak replied, feeling like he was a little kid. "Okay, Lyra, go to Zak." Kate commanded pointing at Zak. Lyra looked over at him, and for some odd reason, she became very rambunctious. She jumped off of Kate's lap and hurried over to Zak. She stood on her back legs and began to lick his face rapidly. He smiled and tried to calm her, but that only riled her up more. Kate saw his struggle and commanded Lyra to stop, but she wouldn't. "Lyra, down!" She cried.

But than Lyra did something that would humiliate Kate for the rest of the day, she started to hump his leg! "Ah!" He cried. Kate's gasped and ran over to restrain her dog. "Lyra, no! Stop it!" She cried trying to pull her off. Aaron and Nick both began laughing and video taping the whole thing. "This is going to be one of my vlogs!" Aaron cried, as he hit record on his camera.

After a few minutes of an embarrassing struggle, Kate finally got Lyra to stop. She carried Lyra back over to her original seat, while Zak dusted the fur off his shirt. With her face bright red from humiliation, she said in a humiliated tone, "Zak, I'm so sorry! I don't know why she did that! She's never done that before to anyone!" Zak looked at her and smiled. "It's okay, don't apologize, I've been humped by dogs before." He replied with a laugh. Nick and Aaron where still laughing and video taping them. Zak saw what they where doing and pushed Nick, and tried to turn Aaron's camera off. "Stop it guys! That wasn't funny!" He cried, while trying to jerk Aaron's camera out of his hands. Kate sat with Lyra, who was now asleep, feeling the embarrassment of what had just happened. "Why now, why not never?" She thought, shaking her head.

After the embarrassing moment took place, they arrived at the car rental store. They got the car that she booked, and drove to the nicest hotel they could find. Once there, they took their luggage into the lobby and got their keys. Zak came back from the front desk after checking them in, and handed out keys to each of his crew mates. "Alright, were all on the same floor, so we won't have to travel to find each other in case of an emergency." He said, picking his bag up and going to the elevator. All four of them stood silently in the elevator going up to the ninth floor. The doors opened and saying a brief goodbye, Kate hurried down the hall with Lyra so she wouldn't have to hear anymore of Aaron's leg humping jokes, he had made in the car the entire ride over to the hotel.

**Kate's P.O.V**

I hurried into my room numbered: 39, so none of the guys would see me. I couldn't believe Lyra attacked his leg like that, she had never done that before in her life. And if she was planning on it long ago, why did she choose today off all days to do it? "Dogs, you never know with them," I figured. I opened the door to this huge deluxe suite with a full sized bed and purple sheets, a big oak wood dresser, a bathroom with a nicely sized tub and shower system, and just the overall basics of a hotel room, only nicer. "Wow, sweet!" I exclaimed. I took my bag and Lyra in and shut the door. I placed my bag in the corner and knelt down to take Lyra off her leash. As I did this, I looked at her little watery eyes. She looked at me like she was sorry for what she had done. I began to feel bad for getting mad at her now that she was using the one trick I couldn't get her to stop using, guilt! I began to stroke her head as she licked my face. "Lyra, what am I gonna do with you, huh?" She began to bark happily in response. "Okay, okay, I forgive you, your too cute for me to stay mad at!" Truth was, I wasn't really mad at Lyra, just how life had planned out this extremely embarrassing situation.

I sat there and played with her for a while, until my phone started ringing. I got up and grabbed my phone out of my pocket, and saw it was Lance calling. "I hope he's not in the hospital," I said, as I answered the phone. "Hello?" "... agh!" "Lance, you there?" I said, wondering what that horrible roaring noise was. "... Kate, I... am dying!" A faint voice struggled to say. "What was that horrible noise I heard?" "That was me,... vomiting!" He replied. I couldn't help it, I started to laugh at him. "It's not funny!" He cried as loud as he could without vomiting. "Lance, I told you not to eat the dang waffles, did you get medical treatment?" I asked, silencing my laughing. "I did, but all he told me to do was to stay in bed and throw up when needed. It's nothing really serious." "Stop making runny waffles, waffles can't be runny." I stated. "Fine, did you get to Missouri?" "Yeah, I'm in my hotel room now, but on the bus ride from the airport, Lyra decided to aggressively hump Zak's leg." That made Lance laugh more than I had ever heard him laugh in my life. "Are you serious?" He said in between laughs. I shook my head and replied, "yes, please stop, the humiliation is enough to bare." I could hear him go from extreme laughing, to extreme vomiting in a matter of seconds. I waited the two minutes it took for him to stop throwing up. The thoughts of the lockdown began to ponder through my mind, as he attempted to speak. "Oh man, I don't think I can stand, I'm gonna have to sleep on the bathroom floor tonight." He said very sluggishly. "Are you doing the lockdown tonight?" "Yeah," I said after a second of silence. "I just don't know how I'll do, I know it will be a lot scarier than I'm thinking." "Just be confidant and the rest will follow." "I suppose so," I replied, taking the clothing out of my bag.

I had thought about this all day, and decided to ask Lance about it. "Lance," I began to say quietly, "is Zak a naturally shy person?" I couldn't hear anything for a second, and thought maybe he was being sick again, but he responded after he was done with whatever he was doing. "No, not from what I've seen, why?" He asked. "Well, he's just,... very quiet and shy around me. He isn't a thing like Aaron or Nick, they both constantly are either talking with me or taking breaks with me, so I have been able to spend bonding time with them. I don't know how to approach him at all." I explained, while I put away some undergarments in the drawer of the dresser. "Have you asked any of the guys about this?" Asked Lance. "No, I don't want them to think I'm crushing on him or something like that." I heard a slight chuckle on the line following his reply. "But, you do!" "Lance!" I cried sharply. "I do not want them to hear what I am saying." "Were on cell phones, they can't tap in our line!" "Someone could be listening at the door, Aaron likes to spy on peoples conversations." I replied. "Kate, you need to ask one of them, it's better to find out before you make a wrong move." I knew he was right, but I still felt that I couldn't push him.

My crush on him at the time, was not big, (or wasn't yet), and I didn't want it to get bigger, but I did however, want us to be as close as we could, and I was willing to be friends than nothing. I'm not someone who looks at the inside out, but the inside in. I can see a nice guy in him, I judged his personality before I first met him after what I was told what he looked like. The funny charm and the muscular body that was followed with a tough guy personality made me think he was a showoff, but I had yet to see a showoff in him. That's why I started to like him. (Okay, when I saw him on interview day, the looks made me like him faster).

None of this conversation needed to continue anymore now that we had laid the cards on the table. "is there anything you needed?" I asked, brushing some hair behind an ear. "Nope, just call me later if you can." He replied. "Okay, but don't expect one tonight, unless it's the ghosts telling you they got me." "Talk to you later, bye now." I hung up after that brief goodbye. I looked at my watch and saw it was one o clock in the afternoon.

Since none of them bothered to tell me when we where going to start shooting, I figured I needed to leave the room and find on e of them. I left Lyra behind as Zak instructed, I guess he wasn't sure if she was allowed in the theater or not.

When I left, I was caught by Aaron who was also leaving his room. It was the one across from mine. "Hey," he said as he grabbed my arm, "do you wanna get some lunch?" "Isn't shooting soon?" I asked. "Not until three, than we have to do a walk around the theater afterwords." He replied. My stomach growled from lack of decent food. Airline peanuts wasn't going to keep me full through the lockdown. "Alright, let's go than." I replied, as we headed down the hallway for the elevator.


	15. The story about joy drama theater

Chapter fifteen

**Notice: This chapter will give you information about the crews next location, the joy drama theater.**

In eighteen seventy nine, the theater was originally built to be a bar that included a stage for live performances, a full service counter, and enough floorspace to accommodate a dance floor, and twelve tables and chairs for dining. The upstairs portion of the building had many rooms where customers would go to enjoy quality time with a date. These rooms where fully furnished, including bathrooms for washing (and vomiting if to much alcohol was consumed).

But unfortunately, the two men who built the property, and had spent three years raising money for it, could not afford to finish the third floor that they wanted for their own business use. So they where forced to stop the rest of the building and abandon the project.

In eighteen eighty one, a local man named Anthony Mitch, and his wife Matilda, bought the property, and had the funds to finish the halfway done third floor. Their plan was to turn it into the theater they had always wanted to build sine the day they where married. They detested the service counter, and spent some hefty money to have it taken out, but where thrilled to see it had a decently sized stage for performances. All they needed to do was fill the empty floors with rows of seats for the many guests to come and watch the shows.

They turned the upstairs bedrooms into dressing rooms for the actors and actresses, and the third floor was going to be used to store props and other stage items for shows and plays.

The building stopped that same year, and soon the joy drama theater was up and running! For about ten years the house would be sold out for the many shows that would come on. Most of the actors for many of the shows where the same ones who didn't travel or move away, but preferred a nice stable job with a good salary.

Despite all these wonderful things though, trouble was coming for the couple.

In eighteen ninety one, Anthony left home on his way to Denver Colorado, to meet with some people who where interested in promoting his theater, so he left Matilda in charge of the theater, employees, and the shows until he got back. At that time, she was pregnant with their first child, and wasn't sure id she could handle running the business while he was gone, but she had no other choice. He left with a promise he would return in a month.

After just a week, a man dressed in a black cloak came into the theater on a day where the performers where just rehearsing. His name was Stephen Treelark, and he had been interested in buying the theater for the use of his own business, his brothel that he decided to move into a bigger building. He offered Matilda seven thousand dollars to move out by the next month, but she refused his offer and sent him on his way. He wasn't happy with the results, and intended to get even.

Just a few days later, an actress named Fiona Jones, who performed at the theater and was also one of the most popular actresses in the theater, had gotten sick with a terrible case of Salmonella, and died in her dressing room before she had to go on stage. Matilda and a staff worker discovered her dead body, and where horrified. They ended the show early and sent the guests home with a full refund.

This recent lose and closing of one of their biggest shows, put them in a financial struggle. The tickets where three dollars admission for adults, and one dollar for children, but that placed them in a bad struggle for money. Not to long after did the dead actress' family come to sue the theater for her death, since the food where she contracted the deadly virus was prepared there. Matilda was facing a horrible time, and with Anthony gone on business, she didn't know how to handle it for herself.

She phoned her husband, and told him everything that had happened. He told her he was coming home and canceled his meetings to go help his wife and falling business.

Since court wasn't going to be for a month, she figured it would be good to reopen the theater which she had closed down for two days after the recent death, and plan a show to get the business back on it's feet. The once vibrant and energetic theater, was now depressing and quiet after the death of Fiona.

On opening night after a magnificent performance, Matilda was alone working behind the stage to clean up a spilled sand bag that fell from one of the ropes. She was happy to have made some good money that would get them back on their feet in record time. As she went along with her work, the sound of the front door opening caught her attention, since the doors where locked and secured tightly with a big wooden board for extra security. She peeked through the curtain, and could clearly see the board still in place. She turned back to finish work, but stopped dead in her tracks at the presence of a tall dark figure, wearing a familiar black cloak. He held in both his hands two objects she couldn't identify since it was so dark back stage. With the right hand, he lit the cigarette lighter he had in it, revealing his face. It was none other than Stephan Treelark. His facial expression read of anger and the want and need for revenge. In his other hand, he had a rope that was looped. He grabbed Matilda, and carried her to the area where the curtain pullers would work to control the curtain as she struggled and screamed for help. He held her down and placed the loop over her head, and attached it to a hook in the ceiling. He pushed her off the balcony and watched as she slowly suffocated to death. He left leaving no evidence of his presence.

Anthony returned the next day, and was surprised that the doors where not open. Usually, they would be unlocked around the time he would go into work, which was by the way, seven thirty in the morning. He ran to the back of the building where he knew would be easier to open the door, since it had no extra boards holding it back. When he came in he had noticed that all the lights where on, and usually after closing, they would of course be turned off. He knew there was a problem. He began to call for Matilda as he searched the building.

He circled around the building until he came to the seating area. The lights where on in there as well as the sunlight coming in through the windows. He looked towards the curtain and saw a shadow of something very heavy hanging by a rope behind the red velvet curtain. He went over and pulled the curtain out of his way to see what it was. And to his horror, it was his wife and unborn child, both hanging there dead. Tears poured down his cheeks as he fell to his knee's screaming for his love to come back to him. Anthony became very irrational. Driven by grief, he pulled the gun he had strapped to his side out and held the pistol to his heart. His last words where: 'I'll see you again!' and with that, he shot himself in the heart and died instantly.

News of the killing and suicide went around all over town. The theater immediately got shut down, and the actors packed up and moved on elsewhere. The bodies of the couple where buried in a cemetery far away from where they once had everything they had ever wanted.

In 1901, nearly ten years after the theater was closed, Stephen Treelark, returned to the closed theater and reopened it's doors. He had stayed away for so long so he wouldn't be accused of the murder of Matilda and her unborn baby. Once he reopened the theater's doors, he took care to fix it to his liking.

While he had waited for the opportunity to go back to the theater, he had saved money for reconstruction purposes over those ten years he waited. He had over twenty five thousand dollars, and that was more than enough for anything he needed to pay for. First, he turned the upstairs dressing rooms back into bedrooms, so the prostitutes could take the clients up with them for privacy. He also turned the third floor basement into a deluxe suite for the highest paying man to come walking in. He removed all the seating rows, and had the bar system reinstalled for an included bar in his brothel to bring in extra money. He kept the stage, and decided to teach the girls how to dance so they could entice the men into throwing money at them as they danced. This of course, was another means of making a profit. The stage was actually the best part of the entire brothel.

He opened after all the work had been done, and money was pouring in.

But on the evening of March ninth, 1903, only two years after Stephen had opened his nearly million dollar business, a man with a gun came in and shot him three times in the master suite. His body laid there on the bed and was found three days later.

Nobody knows who exactly it was who killed him, perhaps, hit was a friend of Anthony and Matilda Mitch, or maybe it was an angry client, or perhaps,... an angry spirit. Whoever it was, it will forever remain a mystery, and up to the individual to decide for himself.

The theater had closed after Stephen Treelark's burial, and had remained closed until nineteen seventy. When it reopened to the public, after reports of ghostly sounds and sightings. People come from far and wide, and claimed to see the ghosts of Anthony, Matilda, Fiona of course Stephen.

The phenomena consists of knockings on doors, footsteps, and occasionally the lights will flicker on and off. Each ghost, is believed to haunt a certain area of the theater. The stage is the most active for paranormal activity. If you turn the lights off, and use only a flashlight to guide you, point it towards the curtain, and you might be able to see the shadow of Matilda's dead body hanging and swaying from the rope she was hung on. You can even hear her screams as she was being dragged up towards the top for her certain death. The next area would be the floor where the seats used to be. Anthony's ghost is said to walk throughout the room wailing with grief and sadness over his dead wife. His apparition is also seen going through the curtain as if it was replaying the scene in which he found his murdered wife. Soon after, people have reported hearing a sound like a gun going off.

Fiona's dressing room is said to have the smell of cinnamon perfume, a scent Fiona was also known to wear daily. Tapping on walls and the lights on her vanity table went on. Her vanity table remained in the room since Stephen saw no need to get rid of it.

And concluding our story, the final ghost, the one of Stephen, is said to haunt the master suite. The bed that remains up there is said to shake and sometimes levitate off the ground. The door will swing open as it did when his killer came upon him suddenly to kill him. The window will swing open allowing the wind to come in and cause a frightening chill. Stephen is also known, as reported by about ten people, to try to push someone out the door and down the flight of stairs to their death. Surely, he is a very violent spirit.

With the ghosts restless and not at peace, what evidence can be brought to further prove that Matilda's killer was the very man who turned the building into a brothel? Well, that's something that must be explored a lot more deeply.


	16. The first time behind camera

Chapter sixteen

**Kate's P.O.V**

Aaron and I went into this little cafe, that served the best tea I had ever had in my life and he had some coffee. We where having chocolate cake. The first half of the lunch he spent making more jokes about Lyra attacking Zak's leg. By now, I was used to this, and just went on laughing. After all, this is my luck for you. "Zak's still getting the fur off his jeans!" he cried laughing. "Anymore laughing and you'll choke on cake and die, than we'll have to come back here and do a lockdown to find your ghost." I replied, turning the joke on him. He stopped making jokes after that one. "Fine, I can see your still embarrassed." He replied, as he motioned to the waitress to bring him more coffee. "Well how would you like it if on the day of your first lockdown, and your trying to make a good impression, something like this happens?" I replied with a laugh. "You don't need to make anymore impressions, Zak likes you already." I felt the red coming back onto my face. I quickly turned away and looked at myself in the reflection of my powder mirror. Not bad as of yet, but that might change later on when I have to see him again with this much humiliation still left in me.

"Are you getting pumped for the lockdown?" Asked Aaron, as he stirred cream into the coffee the waitress brought him. "I am, I read a little about the theater, there where some pretty sick things that happened there." I replied, as I stirred sugar into my tea. "By the way, when is the lockdown tonight?" I asked, remembering that I was never told about when the whole thing was to start. "Seven o clock, after we do some shooting." He replied.

Nobody had told me what my job was during shooting if anything. If I was to just stand and watch, take pictures, these guys are slow to detail me on these things. I don't know even know how shooting is done. I don't know if there are certain things they have to do with scripts or stuff, I have never known how the whole system works. I wasn't sure if I would be camera shy, I obviously wouldn't be during a lockdown, since I would be to concentrated on the ghosts and not the camera. So the way I would fare with the camera outside of shooting was beyond me. I wish I had known and watched the show before I got hired, then maybe I would at least have an idea as to how they film without a camera crew. "Have you had any experience with filming? Even just experience with making videos for the web would help you." Asked Aaron. "No, I never had the time to do it with school and all," I replied. "Well I guess we'll see how you do than." He replied with a smile and playful push.

I could see Zak and Nick coming into the cafe. How they figured out we where eating there out of the many cafe's and diners that surrounded us, I will never know. They saw us at our table, and hurried over. I could tell they where going to rush us out and want to start shooting the scenes. "hey, you guys done here?" Asked Zak, as he checked his watch. Nick had a big camera in his hands and a bigger bag strapped to his back. "Yeah, but what's in the bag?" I asked, pointing at Nick. "It's Aaron's camera, I grabbed it before I left the hotel." Nick replied, turning around to show me the bag. "You where in my room dude?" Asked Aaron, taking Nick's bag off of him. "Yeah, I knew you'd forget it man," he replied. "Kate, did you happen to grab your camera?" Asked Nick. "No, do I need it?" I asked as I stood up from my seat. "Yeah, it's apart of your job during shooting, I'll explain when we get to our scene locations. "Zak replied. I picked my bag up and hurried for the exit. "Okay, I'll go get my camera bag than!" I cried, as I ran out the front door. Luckily, the hotel was only a brisk walk away, so I wasn't going to get into real bad trouble if I was a little late.

I left Lyra in the bedroom, figuring Zak would have asked me to bring her with me if she was allowed inside the theater. I assumed she wasn't so I left her with the TV on for company, and a chew toy out for her to play with. She was asleep when I came in to grab my camera and lenses. I went back down stair with my camera bag around my shoulder in the place of my purse. I went outside and found the guys parked by the curb awaiting my arrival. I got into the back seat next to Nick, while Aaron sat shotgun next to Zak who was driving. "Alright, let's go." Zak said, as he started the car and drove out of the hotel's complex.

It took a while to get there, it was a lot further out than I expected. In a more deserted part of the town where not a lot of people where seen unless they where up to no good. As I sat in the car, Nick explained to me about some of what I was needing to do with shooting.

Apparently, my job was to take action shots and still pictures when the camera was not filming, so we could use the pictures for website blogs and scenes for the show. I knew how to take modeling shots, so that was no problem for me. He also told me my job was to also take professional pictures of the outside of the lockdown location, plus all the rooms and area's that had the most activity, so we could use them for websites, blogs, the show, and for our records. That would be fun for me, who knows if I would catch something in one of the pictures. I was getting excited listening to Nick tell me what I was able to do. We chatted up a storm as he went on to tell me what it was like for him when he first started working for the show. He told me really funny stories from when he first passed out when he was being filmed, to the time he tripped and had a bad accident trying to walk towards the camera. We started laughing as I joked about the possibility of me passing out as well. (Though, it may not be a joke later.) As we laughed, Zak would occasionally look back at us as he drove. I was wondering what he was doing. He wore sunglasses so I can't tell you what kind of expression he was making.

**Zak's P.O.V**

After I listened to Nick flirting up a storm with Kate, we got to the filming location. I chose a deserted path to film the beginning, to bring out the ghost town feel to it. I parked the car on the side of the road in case a trucker decided to come barreling through. We grabbed our equipment and unpacked the camera's. I stood by and waited for Aaron and Nick to unpack their camera's. I saw Kate standing behind Nick, and it looked like she was whispering to him as he worked. He whispered back to her making stupid facial expressions thinking they looked cool on him. (I thought he looked stupid). Whatever it was they where talking about, they where chuckling the whole time. I caught myself staring at them with a displeased look on my face, and reminded myself that I needed to keep myself from liking her to much. I decided to look around for a good spot to film. I thought walking down the dirt paths towards the theater was a good idea. We could see the theater a little from where we where, but only the point on the roof. So we where still a ways away. I looked back and saw Nick showing Kate all the controls on his camera. I got impatient and made irritated noises to get attention. They didn't hear me so I finally called for them. "Guys, come on, where a ways away and we need to shoot before the sun goes down." They hurried over with the shooting equipment.

**Kate's P.O.V**

The deserted part of the city was almost like an abandoned town from one of those old western movies. It was dark, lonely and not a lot of people where walking the streets, which again I'll say where the only type who where up to no good. Zak told us we where going to walk a little further away from the car, and begin shooting about fifty feet away. The road was rough and dry, and a lot of rocks where embedded in the dirt making it a lot harder to walk. It's a good thing I wore good walking boots without heels that day, that was my choice for the lockdown anyway. Fashion needs to come last in this job it seemed.

We walked a good one hundred feet away from the car before Zak had us stop to prepare the equipment. He cleared his throat to begin giving us orders. "Aaron, you need to film from my left, while Nick will film from in front of me. I will walk towards the building so the theater can be seen from the distance." His attention turned towards me. I mentally prepared myself by clearing my mind, so I could get all the orders right the first time without him having to repeat himself. "Alright Kate, take the pictures after we stop filming. Be sure to get a shot of me, and the theater in the background. I am going to ask you to say a few words to the camera since we need to introduce you to the show." Being told I was going to be on camera made me nervous like crazy. "Do I need to follow a certain script?" I asked, hoping I wouldn't have to. It would be a lot easier for me to plan what I would say myself rather than get nervous by trying to follow a script. "No, you don't have to, just always say cut if you don't like the way you say a line." He replied. I nodded and held my camera up ready to take the pictures.

Nick turned his camera on and hit record.

_**Filming started...**_

_**Zak walks to the camera, pointing a finger behind him towards the theater.**_

_**Zak :** "Were here in Anderson Missouri, to take a tour inside the very haunted and very active theater turned brothel known as the 'joy drama theater', where the ghosts of murder victims, actresses, and many others are said to haunt the hallways, rooms and of course, the stage." Behind me is the theater in the distance. Were still several minutes away from it, but you can tell it's a pretty big place."_

"_Joining us tonight is our new photographer and photo expert, Mrs Kate Rowten."_

_**Zak extended a hand towards Kate, who was now in the shot by Nick's camera. She glanced at the camera quickly and took his hand. He pulled her next to him to speak to the camera. **_

_**Kate:** "Hello, I'm Kate, hope you enjoy the lockdown, I know I will."_

_**Aaron:** "Yeah you say that now," _

_**Nick and Zak both start to chuckle.**_

_**Kate: "**I bet I have more guts than you!"_

_**Aaron shook his head in disagreement, and mouths to the camera: 'not true!'**_

_**Zak: "**So now that we've introduced you to our new team mate, let's go ghost hunting!"_

_**Filming ends...**_

"Good job guys!" Zak cried happily. "Especially you Kate, you didn't act nervous at all." "Oh thanks," she replied, taking a big gulp of her bottled water she brought. "Okay, let's get back to the car and drive down there to shoot the scenes and interview the workers." Zak ordered, pointing towards the car. They began the brisk walk back to the car. Kate felt satisfied with herself with what she just did. "I didn't do to bad," she thought with a smile.

**Zak's P.O.V**

Aaron and Kate where walking up ahead of me and Nick, poking each other on the shoulders and teasing each other about how scared their going to be. Nick was pointing his camera in the direction of Kate, and had it focused on her butt. I could see what he was doing, and quickly remembered he had been flirting with her ever since we got in the car. I took that moment to confront him about it. "Hey," I said, as I shoved him to get him to stop filming her butt. He looked back at me and pointed the camera towards my face to bug me. "What is it man?" He asked. "Stop that! Turn the camera off for a minute!" I said, as I covered his lens with my hand. He jumped back and turned his camera off. "What?" He asked again. "I saw you filming her butt just now, stop that! And stop flirting with her," I said firmly. "I haven't been flirting with her!" "Yeah you where, you where doing it the whole time in the car." "I was telling her about my first camera experience, so she wouldn't be really nervous!" He replied, making a frantic gesture with his hand. "Dude, I know you, you where flirting with her without a doubt!" I replied, beginning to get impatient with his lies. I knew he was lying the whole time, I can't stand being lied to!

"Dude, why do you care? You told me you don't like her anyway," Nick replied. I immediately fired back at him, to avoid looking guilty. "Alright Nick, your not going to accuse me of that next!" I leaned in and whispered to him the rest of my comeback. "I don't like her that way at all, but I can see you do!" Nick jumped back again and replied calmly, "Zak, no, I don't, chill." Nick isn't a good liar, so it's easy for anybody to tell if he's lying once you get to know him. I knew him for a long time and by the way he was talking, the sound of his voice, the look on his face, and his body language, he didn't look like he was lying to me. I calmed down after that to avoid any questions he or Aaron may asked me later about liking Kate. "Okay, sorry man." I said, feeling a little bit stupid. "It's cool man, no sweat." He replied, placing a hand on my shoulder.

**Kate's P.O.V**

The entire time we where walking back to the car, I could hear Zak and Nick talking about something. And by the way they where speaking, I could tell it was something of an argument, but I chose not to ask questions. Aaron obviously could hear them too, and he even looked back occasionally to see what they where doing. But he remained silent. I figured if there was a problem he would tell me or go and see what they where talking about. We got back in the car and this time Zak told me to sit shotgun, so I could get a drive by shot of the theater.

It took us about ten minutes to get there, even though it looked like it was close by. We parked the car a few blocks away from the theater so we wouldn't get towed. I stepped out of the car and felt the ground was much smoother to walk on. It was a relief from the terrible bumps and stones in the road that made it almost impossible to walk without stumbling. I looked up at the great theater as I adjusted my bag strap around my neck. "Whoa," I said in astonishment. Aaron walked up from behind me and replied, "I know, it's creepy!" I followed the guys down the path and took some shots of the theater as I was told. The pictures had great lighting and great quality. That makes it easier for me to edit them for any flaws. Zak gestured for me to come over as we approached the theater's grounds. I quickly went up to him. "You need to take some shots of the building now, and when we get inside, you need to take shots of the rooms." He instructed. I nodded and went up ahead of them to take the shots.

I can't tell you how creepy the theater looked. Just by looking at it you could tell it was haunted. The wind blew through the holes in the walls and the cracks of the windows, making a whistling sound. Which added to the coldness of the air and the chill I occasionally got up my spine. I took a few steps back to make sure I got the best shot of the building. I pointed my camera up and snapped the picture. I took a minute to look at the picture, and noticed there was a strange looking shadow in the window on the third floor where the master suite was. I quickly looked back up at the window to see if I could see the shadow, but it was gone, and the window looked like it was taking in much more light that it did in the picture. I compared what I saw just now, to the picture, and confirmed it was a shadow. "Wow," I thought, "this is the real deal." Aaron came up from behind me, and it startled me. He saw that I had jumped when he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Sorry, you got the shots?" He asked. "Yeah," I replied quietly. I thought about showing him the picture, but decided to wait till later after I did more thorough research, just to make sure it was authentic. It would be embarrassing to show them a picture that wasn't real after telling them how much paranormal experience I had.

"Zak need's us to go and start the interviewing with the workers here, he and Nick are up ahead saying hi to the guy that works here." Aaron said, breaking my thoughts. "Alright," I replied, following him back towards the front of the theater.

**Nobody's P.O.V**

Kate and Aaron met up with Nick and Zak, who where already saying hi to the theater caretaker, Jason. Jason looked like he was in his late fifties, and wore a shirt that said: 'joy drama theater ghost witness'. Aaron shook the old mans hand, and Kate did the same as Zak introduced each one of them to the man. "It is such an honor to have a paranormal team from television come here to do an investigation." said Jason, with much anticipation on his face. "Where happy to be here, can we start the interview?" Asked Zak. "Yes," Jason replied. Zak backed Kate behind him, while Aaron and Nick began to shoot the interview at different angles. Nick, once again taking the shot straight ahead, while Aaron did a side shot from the left.

_**Filming started...**_

_**Zak begins to ask Jason questions regarding the theater. **_

_**Zak:** "Jason, I understand you have been working here for over twenty years._

_**Jason:**"Yes I took my fathers place as the manager and main caretaker of the theater after he passed on."_

_**Zak: "**Tell us a little about the history of the theater,"_

_**Zak gestured for Kate to take a picture of him and Jason standing outside the theater door. **_

_**Kate takes the picture of them, as Jason begins to explain the theater's history to Zak.**_

_**Jason: **"Well, in eighteen seventy nine, the theater was built by a few men wanting to open their own bar, but the building had to stop sine they could no longer afford development. The halfway done building just stood here, while the city decided whether or not they should put it up for sale as it was, or to just demolish it."_

_**Zak: **"Obviously, it wasn't demolished."_

_**Jason: **"No, the Mitch family bought it three years later, exactly three months before the city was planning to demolish it."_

_**Zak: **"Now the Mitch family, they are some of the ghosts that haunt this theater right?"_

_**Jason: **"Yes, they where the original theater owners, and ran this theater clear up to Anthony Mitch's suicide." _

_**Zak:** "Can you tell us a little about the Mitch family?"_

_**Jason:** "Yes, Anthony was originally a farmer, and his wife Matilda was a homemaker. They had lived on a farm that they used to produce milk and grain."Anthony was working at a theater way down north to learn about acting and directing. He got his experience through performing on stage in shows and smaller plays. The idea to open his own theater came to him a few years after he started working with the theater."_

_**Zak: **"What happened to Matilda? I understand she was murdered by someone." _

_**Jason: **"Well, when Anthony left on business, she had to watch the theater while pregnant with their first child. One day, a man named Stephen Treelark came to her, and he wanted to buy the theater and move his brothel into it, but of course she said no."On a night when she was alone, Stephen came over and killed her brutally by hanging her on the stage."_

_**Jason opened the theater doors, and let Zak and the crew in. They walked towards the big stage. Zak and Jason stood on the stage along with Nick who was filming them in front of the curtain. Kate took a picture of them on the stage when he gestured to her.**_

_**Jason: **"This is the stage where all the shows where performed on it, by the most well know actors here in Anderson. Behind this curtain, is where Matilda's body had been hanging for the night, before Anthony came back the next morning and discovered it._

_**Zak gave the camera a surprised look as he asked Jason how Anthony died.**_

_**Zak: **"How did Anthony die, I know it was a suicide, but what did he do to himself?"_

_**Nick focused the camera on Jason, as he began to explain to Zak how Anthony committed suicide.**_

_**Jason: **"When he saw his wife hanging their dead, he went crazy and shot himself in the heart dying on the stage next to his wife." _

_**Zak: **"Wow, that's rough. What happened after the killing?"_

_**Jason: **"Well the police where looking for the murder, after they did an autopsy on both of them and found that one was murder and the other was a suicide, but they had no evidence that could give them a lead. All they had was the gun that Anthony killed himself with." _

_**Zak: **"Where is the gun? Do they still have it?"_

_**Jason: **"No, we actually have it in a glass display case for the public to see."_

_**Zak: **"Can we see the gun?"_

_**Jason: **"Yes, come with me."_

_**Zak looks at the camera and gestures for Nick to follow him. Nick along with Aaron and Kate followed them. Kate took a quick pic of the stage before she left. Jason took them to a big glass case on the right of the floor, and opened the door taking out the old bronze weapon. He held it up for the camera to see. **_

_**Jason: **"This is the gun police believe was the weapon Anthony used to take his life."_

_**Jason hands Zak the gun, allowing him to show the viewers the gun. Zak holds it carefully showing the camera the gun. Kate walks to the left of Nick and snaps a picture of the gun. **_

_**Zak looks intently at the camera and says: **"This is a piece of evidence, to the haunting's that are happening right here in this town."_

_**Zak hands the gun back to Jason, and than the crew follow him towards the second floor.**_

_**Jason begins to explain the next half of the theater's history.**_

_**Jason: **"After the deaths, ten years later Syephen returned with his brothel, and converted the building to accommodate his business. The dressing room where converted to bedrooms,"_

_**Jason says, as he points his hands in the directions of the bedroom doors.**_

_**Jason stops and stands outside of a particular room, with a bright pink door. **_

_**Jason: **"This is the old dressing room of a very popular actress when the theater was running. Her name was Fiona Jones. She died of Salmonella when she ate food produced by the theater's cooks."Her spirit is said to be haunting this room. You can hear the bed shaking, the walls tapping, and sometimes the door will open." The ghosts haunt particular parts of the house. Matilda haunts the stage, and you can see her dead body swaying from the rope behind the curtain if you point a light to it, and Anthony's ghost is said to wander the floor and walk behind the stage curtain, reenacting what he did when he found his dead wife."Fiona's presence can also become known if you can smell her cinnamon perfume when you walk by or in her room." _

_**Zak gives the camera an interested look.  
Zak: **"Tell me about the short lived brothel."_

_**Jason: **"The brothel didn't last long, because the owner mister Stephen Treelark, got murdered, but many believed he was assassinated." _

_**Zak: **"How was he killed?"_

_**Jason: **"He got shot three times in the head, and died in the master suite. His body was found laid out on the bed."_

_**Zak and Jason walk for the master suite on the third floor. Kate took a picture of the inside of Fiona's room as she followed them. They walked into the eery bedroom. Kate felt a chill in the air as she stared at the window where she got that bizarre photo.**_

_**Jason: **"This bedroom, I would say, get's the most activity. I have stood up here alone and have smelled the smell of cigar smoke when I dust the furniture, and the bed will levitate off the floor. Sometimes the imprint of his body is shown on top of the covers, and if you try to touch it, it will disappear before you." _

_**Zak looked around the room excited to hear that room was the most haunted. **_

_**Zak: **"I would love to stay up here alone tonight, and Aaron can take the stage."_

_**Nick's camera points to Aaron.**_

_**Aaron looks at the camera and says: **"Dude, you want to see me hanging upside down on the stage, don't you?"_

_**Kate begins laughing along with Zak and Nick.**_

_**Zak begins to taunt the ghost of Stephen.**_

_**Zak: **"Listen Stephen, I know for a fact that you killed this woman, I'm gonna sit on your bed all alone tonight, let's see if you can do to me what you did to Matilda you coward!"_

_**Jason: **"Well, the only thing I have left to tell you is good luck, and have fun!"_

_**Filming ends...**_

_**Kate's P.O.V**_

We finished filming and said goodbye to Jason, promising we would be back to be locked in at seven thirty that night. I was nervous after the stories I heard and being inside the building, but also very curious about it. Maybe it won't be as scary as I think it will be. There are no demons as far as I know. And hopefully there aren't any lurking around.

We headed back to the car to go back to the hotel and get ourselves set for the night. Wash up, eat dinner, gather all the equipment, that kind of thing. Zak gave me a lot of praise for the work I did, they all did. I felt proud of myself knowing I did a good job on my first day, and with them being professionals at it, it reassured me that I wasn't doing too bad.

We sat in the car and I was once again in the backseat with Aaron this time. He raised a hand for a high five. "Awesome job! high five!" He cried. I smiled and returned the high five. "Thanks, I was really nervous." I replied, with an honest look on my face. "You aced it for someone who was as nervous as you where." Said Nick, looking back at me from shotgun. "Could any of you tell?" I asked. Aaron smiled and so did Nick, as Zak replied with a chuckle, "yeah, we could!" I blushed as I began to laugh along with them. I looked out the window as we drove by some tall tree's. I gazed up at them and thought, "maybe I can do this, maybe this is what I was meant to do."


	17. Preparing for the lockdown

Now that we had all the questions answered, and planned our route, it was time to begin the investigation.

Chapter seventeen

**Kate's P.O.V**

I was in my room brushing my hair and gathering the equipment Zak told me to bring with me. He wanted me to take my digital camera to take more photo's. It's a good thing I had a night vision lens for it, otherwise I couldn't use it. He asked for me to bring the equipment Nick gave me the other night, and my video camera to film activity.

Zak and the guys where bringing these huge camera's along with standard ones, camera stands, and microphones to capture anything they could for evidence. I no understood why we needed to take a big SUV to transport everything 'cause there was a lot of things! It's funny, I only need to take a bag full of things and I'm good. It was gonna look funny walking down the street with them while they carry giant bags and boxes.

I finished my hair and picked up my backpack full of equipment, and strapped it to my back. I also picked up my camera bag and put it over my shoulder. Lyra was sound asleep on my bed, I figured she would be okay as long as I left the light and TV on for her so she wouldn't get lonely. It's not like I could be home with her tonight anyway.

I quietly shut the door and met up with Aaron who was coming down the hall with two large bags he was struggling to carry. I stopped him and lifted one of them off his shoulder. "Aaron," I said as I lifted the bag off of him. "Don't carry all of this by yourself." His face emerged after I lifted the bag off of him and he replied in a worn out tone, "I have to, Nick and Zak are already down stairs waiting in the car." "Let me help carry this, my bag is a the size of a pea compared to this pumpkin sized bag your carrying." He let me help him as long as it wasn't a struggle for me.

I swear, that bag was about three thousand pounds. What was it full of metal? Wait... yeah it was!

We made it in the elevator, and I actually still had it in my arms by the time we made it to the lobby. He walked up ahead of me as I struggled with the bag in the back. "Aaron," I struggled to say, "do we honestly need this much stuff?" He glanced back at me as he opened the front doors. "You told me you could carry them!" He laughed, as I struggled to get through the front door. "At least hold the dang door open for me!" I replied. He held the door open for me as I slowly got through it. He laughed the entire time. "What a man you are!" I cried, as I began to chuckle. Luckily Zak and Nick where parked close by, and could see us.

Zak and nick came running over to help me. Nick took the bag out of my arms,while Zak punched Aaron's shoulder, scolding him for letting me carry the million pound bag. "Dude, why is she carrying that thing for you?" He asked, taking Aaron's bag as he walked back towards the car. Aaron began to chuckle as he saw the worn out look on my face. "Hey, it teaches her how we roll!" He replied, taking my hand and helping me into the car. I took the opportunity to rest my head and my eyes since it was going to be a long car ride anyway, might as well rest up for the lockdown, after using up 70% of my energy just carrying the equipment alone.

**Zak's P.O.V**

The highway was dark since there weren't enough street lights for the part of town where the theater was located. It was almost impossible trying to avoid the many bumps and junk that crowded the road. I drove that car like our lives depended on it,... well, they did. (I know I'm not making sense) Aaron was sitting in the front with me trying to identify were we where, while Nick was sitting in the back. I glanced back several times to see what he was doing, because I could see him sometimes look at Kate while she rested with her eyes closed. Whenever he saw me looking he would stop. Was he being honest with me when I asked him if he liked her? It doesn't matter anyway, I'm not planning on going out with her. I promised myself I wouldn't like her, Ashley would freak if I did! And I don't want to ruin a good thing I have going for me. Despite Ashley's problems, we do have some good times together.

We got to the theater a little late since Aaron led me in circles insisting he knew the way to the theater. I parked the car a lot closer to the theater since we had all those heavy bags to bring in. All I could do was hope the car wasn't towed by the time we where done with the investigation tomorrow morning. "Okay guys, let's roll." I said loudly. I helped Nick and Aaron take the bags out of the car, while I sent Kate over to Jason who was waiting for us by the front door. We unloaded the equipment and joined Kate as Jason let her inside the theater. I stopped behind the guys to shake Jason's hand one final time before he locked us in. "Good luck, I'll see you in the morning." He said as he shook my hand pretty strongly for his age. "Alright, come back for us at six." I replied as I went in. He locked the doors and left.

**Nobody's P.O.V**

After Jason was long gone, the gang went to setting up base. They chose where they where since the rest of the theater was packed full of stuff, and they wouldn't have enough space to spread out their equipment if they chose anywhere else. Once they had all the camera's and such out on a portable table they brought, Zak went to planning out where they would go first. He got everyone together and began to give orders. "Alright, I want us to get a thorough investigation of this place, and this theater is a lot bigger than I thought it would be, were gonna have to split up at some point." Kate gulped after hearing him say they where to split up. Zak sat on the floor and opened a big map of the building Jason gave him, to map out where they would go first. The rest of the crew sat on the floor across from him and listened to his instructions. "The first area I want to look at is the stage. We'll stay in there for a few hours and see if we can get anything. I also want to look behind the stage as well as around the seating area where the ghost of Anthony is said to walk. We need to go up into the dressing room of Fiona, and I want to stay in Stephen's room alone for a while myself."

He drew lines and X's on the map, mapping out the most active area's. He drew X's on the stage, Stephen's room. And in Fiona's old dressing room. "Aaron," Zak said, pointing at the diagram of the stage, "buddy, your staying on the stage alone later. I want you to get a shot of Matilda's body swaying." Aaron shook his head in disagreement. :Yeah, of course I get left alone in the creepiest part of the building, great!" He replied, shaking his head. "Nick, you and Kate are going to stay in Fiona's room alone later." Zak instructed. Nick looked at Kate and raised his eyebrows with a cocky smile. She chuckled and agreed to do it. "I'm staying in Stephen's room alone while you guys are doing all of this, we'll do it towards the end of the lockdown later."

**Kate's P.O.V**

I was a little scared after he told me I was going to be in Fiona's room later, but at least Nick would be there with me. Suddenly the whole reality of what I was about to do came rushing into my mind. Locked inside a haunted building all night with no escape if something goes wrong, could something go wrong? Those where questions I hoped wouldn't be answered. I think they could tell I was a little stressed and scared, but trying to maintain a positive face, though it was hard, I managed to stay strong and showed very little fear even though I was shaking from my hips to my toes in fear. (I don't even want to begin telling you how sick my stomach was getting.) Aaron was the first one to notice I was getting a little scared. I guess he knew me a lot more than I thought he did. He smiled and hugged me to reassure me I was gonna be okay. "Hey, it's cool, we'll be alright, you'll do great!" I smiled and hugged him back. What a nice guy he is! He's just like a brother to me.

Nick and Aaron where busy setting up their camera's, while Zak was showing me how the EVP recorder worked. He showed me which buttons to press to start it and which to record and play back audio. He recommended that I wear ear buds to hear the voices better before I use it without them, since I was a beginner. That was all he wanted me to use for now, unless I needed to use something else later. I went over and over and over in my mind how to use the EVP recorder, until I could remember clearly. But of course, I would forget once asked to use it. "Alright guys, the lights are going off!" Zak cried as he pulled a switch. The room grew dark, and I couldn't see a thing! I wondered how we where going to see were we where going without the use of flashlights. "How are we going to see where were going?" I asked, trying to find my way toward the guys. "We use night vision lights on our camera's to see. Either stand in front of one, or look through one with night vision lenses, you do have night vision to your camera's, right?" Asked Nick. "I do," I replied, taking the lenses for my video camera out of my bag.

"But be sure to stay close since it's easy to get lost during the lockdowns," Zak instructed. "Alright," I replied, while powering up my camera.


	18. Lockdown at the joy drama theater

Chapter eighteen

**Lockdown started...**

_**The lights where off and Nick and Aaron hade their camera's rolling. Zak was standing in front of Nick's camera, and Kate was somewhere behind Aaron looking through her camera so she could see.**_

_**Zak looked at the camera and began to whisper: "**Were gonna start with the stage and the rows of seats, to see if we can see Anthony, or Matilda's ghosts._

_**The crew slowly began to walk from base to the seating area and stage. It was big, and there where many stairs that went down towards the huge stage. They where careful not to trip, though it wasn't easy even with their bright night vision camera lights. Zak walked in front while Nick shot him from behind. Kate was behind Aaron, who was behind Nick, and was shaking a little from fear of the spirits, and from possibly tripping and falling to her death. The only sounds that could be heard where the sounds of the wind blowing through the holes in the windows, and the walls..**_

_**Zak's commentary...**_

"_**Along with the sounds of whistling we heard from the wind blowing in from outside through the holes in the walls, we also felt chills passing by our arms and behind our necks, but we debunked that as that also being the cold wind from outside blowing in. **_

"_**We headed for the stage, but stopped to sit down in some of the rows of seats, to see if we could get the spirit of Anthony to come by and communicate with us."**_

**Lockdown continues...**

_**Zak was sitting in the left row alongside Nick, while Aaron sat alongside Kate in the right row. It was quiet, creepy and the feeling of being watched was felt by everybody.**_

_**Zak: **"Anthony, my name is Zak, and this is Nick, Aaron and Kate," **He said, as he pointed towards each of his friends as he introduced them, **"We mean you no harm, we just want to talk to you. How did you die?"_

_**By asking this question, Zak thought maybe he could get Anthony's apparition to appear and reenact his death scene as it had been reported by some guests.**_

_**They waited a minute, but nothing answered. Zak tried again to get it to speak as he looked around the area for the ghost.**_

_**Zak: **"We know you committed suicide when you found your wife had been killed, how did you kill yourself?" _

_**Kate looked around as if she coul hear something coming. Aaron looked around also, wondering what she could see or hear. Suddenly, a loud knock was heard from far beyond where they where sitting. Zak jumped up along with Nick.**_

_**Zak: **"Is that you?" **Zak cried loud enough to have his voice echo.**_

_**They waited a minute, but nothing more was heard. They resumed their original position for the next hour, and nothing further happened.**_

_**Zak's commentary...**_

"_**After hearing that strange knock coming from the stage area, we waited for an hour more but no further activity was caught, so we decided to get on the stage and provoke the spirits on a more reactive ground. I stood on the stage with Nick shooting on the stage and Aaron shooting off of it. I had Kate standing up there next to me, to see how she would react to the possible activity on stage."**_

**Lockdown continues...**

_**Zak, Nick and Kate, where standing on the stage getting ready to do an EVP session, while Aaron filmed from the audience for a better shot.**_

_**Zak was the first to speak to the ghost of Matilda.**_

_**Zak:**"Matilda, I heard about what happened to you, and I feel bad for you. Please, can you make a noise to acknowledge your presence?"_

_**They waited a moment, than a strange knocking noise was heard from the floor where Kate was standing. This made her jump.**_

_**Zak looeds at the camera with wide eyes.**_

_**Zak: **"Dude, did you hear that?"_

_**Nick:**"I did, it came from where Kate is standing."_

_**Kate: **"..." **She took a deep breath, and looked at the camera with a scared look.**_

_**Zak: **"Are you trying to communicate with us?" _

_**Zak's commentary...**_

"_**We heard this woman's voice on my EVP recorder, or a woman who is saying she wants to talk to Kate, here's the advanced audio:**_

…_**...**Kate?..._

"_**Could this be Matilda calling out to Kate, since she had shown earlier before the lockdown, great sadness for her murder?"**_

**Lockdown continues...**

_**The team listened to the EVP, and Kate was shocked and scared. Zak urged her to talk to Matilda in hopes of some sort of activity.**_

_**Zak: **"It's alright Kate, go ahead and talk to her, she wants to connect with you." **He said, giving her a gentle tap on the shoulder to reassure her she was okay.**_

_**Kate gulped nervously, and began to nervously ask Matilda some questions:**_

_**Kate: **"Hello sweetheart," **She paused for a minute to think what to say,** "I feel sorry about you and your unborn baby being murdered like that, I know it was Stephen who killed you, can you make a noise for me to tell me your listening?"_

_**After a second, a whistling noise was heard from behind the curtain. It's not loud, but noticeable to the human ear. **_

_**Zak: **"Whoa!" **He cried as he grabs Kate's shoulder. She looks up at him with her jaw hanging open.**_

_**Zak: **"She's speaking to you!"_

_**They ventured behind the curtain, and leave Aaron behind to film from the outside.**_

_**Zak asked Kate to stand by the rope which the police had found Matilda's body tied to. She slowly made her way towards the rope, and screams from Aaron are instantly heard.**_

_**Aaron: **"AAHH!_

_**Zak: **"What?"_

_**Aaron: **"I see a figure of a woman standing by the rope!"_

_**There was silence for a moment as they looked around for what he might have seen, than realized that he was seeing Kate's shadow being casted from behind. **_

_**Zak: **"Dude, that's Kate, I told her to stand by the rope, did you not hear me tell her that?"_

_**Aaron: **"...No,"_

_**The crew begins to laugh at him for a moment, than continue on with their investigation.**_

_**Zak:** "Kate, start asking some questions,"_

_**Kate: **"Is this the rope the police found your body on?"_

_**There was silence, only the sound of the wind blowing in is heard, until a loud voice is heard off of Kate's EVP recorder. **_

_**Kate looked down at her recorder, and played it back to listen. Her jaw was dropped as she listens to the disembodied voice. Zak and Nick could see her expression, and go over to listen. She pulls the earphones out of the earjack, and plays the audio back for them.**_

_**EVP recording: "...YES!..."**_

_**Nick: "**Whoa!"_

_**Aaron walked behind the curtain after hearing the EVP. Even he could hear it it was so loud.**_

_**Aaron: **"Dude!"_

_**Zak: **"That was creepy! She told you where she was hung!"_

_**Kate was happy to have found a recording, yet, sad the spirit confirmed where her body was hung. Her excited face became gloomy and sad**_

_**Zak's commentary...**_

"_**The voice that's talking to Kate on her EVP recorder, sounds like Matilda confirming where her body was hung. The voice recording was so loud, Aaron could hear it from where he was."**_

"_**We decided to leave Aaron behind, to film from the seats to see if he can get a glimpse of Matilda's body, or Anthony walking by, while Nick, Kate and I, venture up stairs for the bedrooms and the master suite."**_

**Lockdown continues...**

_**Zak, Nick and Kate walked down the long hallway for Fiona's bedroom. **_

_**They stop outside a bright pink door with an 'F' on it. Zak opened the door and goes in followed by Nick and Kate. They shut the door and look around the room for a place to sit. Zak sat on the end of the bed, while Kate and nick stood side by side to film, and take pictures of him. Zak begins to try to communicate with Fiona's wandering spirit.**_

_**Zak: **"Fiona, I know you loved your dressing room when you where alive, do you not like us to be in here?"_

_**Nothing happened at the present moment.**_

_**Zak:** "Is it true you died of salmonella?" _

_**Nick and Kate looked around the room startled by the sound of moaning.**_

_**Zak's commentary...**_

"_**We just heard the sound of a woman moaning, as if she is in serious pain. Our EVP recorders caught the unusual noise. Along with the moaning, we caught the sound of a woman screaming, we could not hear with our own ears.**_

_**EVP recording: "...OOHHHH!..."**_

"_**Is this Fiona trying to show us what she did, the exact moment she had died?"**_

**Lockdown continues...**

_**Aaron's camera...**_

_**He looked around the room, still seated in one of the many rows waiting for some ghostly activity. He pointed the camera to his face.**_

_**Aaron: **"This place is getting way creepier now, and I've only been sitting here for ten minutes." _

"_I'm just waiting on Anthony or Matilda to give me a sign of their presence, but honestly, I'd rather not have them talk to me at all!" _

_**He pointed the camera to face the stage, as he began to communicate with the spirits.**_

_**Aaron: **"Hey, if your here, could you please make a noise for me?"_

_**Nothing was heard as of yet.**_

_**Aaron: **"I mean you no harm, I just want to communicate with you!" _

_**He waited for a second, than a loud bang was heard from behind him. **_

_**Aaron: **"Ah!" **He screamed, as he got up and looked around the area for the source of the noise. None was found.**_

_**Aaron: **"... Anthony, was that you who made that noise?"_

_**He waited a second, but nothing was heard. He turned around and pointed the camera for the stage, and immediately, he could see the shadow of something behind the curtain. He didn't want to go over to look, but he sucked up his fear and bravely went down the stairs. He stood at the bottom of the stage, and could clearly see the shadow of something hanging behind the stage on a rope. He was at first speechless, and almost couldn't believe it being the apparition of Matilda, but stayed where he was to examine the strange shape further. Than, he spots the shadow of a finger from the unknown shadow. **_

_**Aaron: **"Ah!" **He cried as he ran away from the stage back to base.**_

_**Zak's commentary...**_

"_**The strange shadow form Aaron caught on his camera, did look like the shape of something hanging from the rope, but could it really be Matilda's apparition reenacting what had happened? We analyzed it as the shadow of a person by the shape of a finger Aaron could see through his camera, but we couldn't see any other human like characteristics. I found Aaron hiding in base moments after he ran away, when I went back to get my own camera, and convinced him to go back to the stage, and see if he could catch Anthony's spirit reenacting the discovery of his wife's dead body. **_

"_**I left Nick and Kate in Fiona's bedroom by themselves, while I headed up into the master suite to chase down Stephan."**_

**Lockdown continues...**

_**Nick and Kate where sitting quietly awaiting for Fiona to make her presence known. They had been waiting for an hour now, so Nick decided to have Kate do an EVP session with her by herself, while he stood outside the door to wait. He figured to make Fiona comfortable, it would be best to leave her with another female.**_

_**Kate's camera...**_

_**Kate had her camera rolling on an end table, while she sat at the end of the bed, to begin her EVP session with the spirit of Fiona. She placed the earphones in her ears, and began the EVP session after carefully thinking of something respectful to say.**_

_**Kate: **"Fiona, it's just us girls now, I kicked Nick out so we could talk, could you tell me a little about yourself?" _

_**She looked around waiting for a response, but nothing was seen or heard.**_

_**Kate: **"Fiona I have a friend at home right now who is sick with salmonella too, does that comfort you to know that your not the only one who has suffered with it?"_

_**Suddenly, a table lamp falls off one of the end tables. She jumped up and began to scream.**_

_**Kate: **"Ah!" _

_**Nick quickly came in and found her standing completely frozen by the entrance. **_

_**Nick: **"What happened?" **He asked, with the camera pointed directly at her. She looked at him with fear in her eyes and reply's slowly, **"I just heard something break, and I think it came from the other side of the bed!" **He ventured over to see what had fallen, and It was indeed the table lamp, only this one, was located on the other side of the bed, but the opposite side of the room! She had thought it was one a lot closer by her, because it sounded like it had come from closer by. Wouldn't the ghost try to scare her by having the lamp fall in front of her, or even thrown at her? He reached down to pick it up, as she is filming him with her camera. He immediately put it back down and shakes his hand.**_

_**Nick: **"It's bone chilling freezing," **He stated, giving the camera a sharp look. **_

_**Zak's commentary...**_

"_**We believe this lamp falling and breaking, is a clear sign that Fiona was listening to Kate, and simply responding. Later after the lockdown, Kate told me she had felt very drained of energy at the time, and for a spirit to be able to move objects like that, it does take an incredible amount of energy for a spirit to do so. Nick did not feel the same way as her at the time."**_

**Lockdown continues...**

_**Nick and Kate decided to sit by and see if they could communicate with Fiona any more.**_

_**Zak's camera...**_

_**Zak was sitting all alone in the master suite, and had been asking question after question, and making taunt after taunt at Stephan, but so far, no luck.**_

_**Zak's commentary...**_

"_**I had been waiting for over an hour and a half, asking Stephan to make himself known to me, but so far, my ways have been proven unsuccessful, but I held out, and it's fortunate that I did."**_

_**Zak's camera...**_

_**He was walking around the room, with a plastic shotgun in his hand, since that was the weapon many people believe was the type of gun that took Stephan's life.**_

_**Zak: **"Is this the weapon that killed you?"** He called loudly. **"I know you don't like me being here, so you might as well just tell me!" _

_**Suddenly, he jumped back after having the feeling of someone touching his upper back, as if they where trying to push him. He looks around the room with his camera still shooting. **_

_**Zak: **"Who did that!" **He cried. Than the door slowly started to open. He quickly turned his camera towards the door and watched as it slowly opened, making a creepy creaking noise. **_

_**Zak: **"The door, is opening on it's own." **He said, with the camera pointed towards him. He turned it back towards the door which was now completely still, and walked over to see what might have caused it to open. **_

_**Zak: **"Hello? Was somebody up here just now!" **He cried, as he looked around for evidence, but than the same pushing he felt earlier had come back and this time, it was stronger. He barely stopped himself from falling down the stairs that stood just at the foot of the door. **_

_**Zak's commentary...**_

"_**We studied the door's bizarre opening as it being potentially paranormal, simply because there was no wind coming in up stairs, and no one else was up there at the time except for me. The strange feeling of being pushed that I had felt earlier, I felt when I was looking down towards the bottom of the stairs, and Stephen's ghost is rumored to try to push someone off the top. Could this have been Stephen trying to tell me to get out? Because keep in mind, I did ask him to let me know if he wanted me out of his room.**_

"_**When I went back into the room a minute after my possible attack, I caught this EVP of a man who is telling me to get out.**_

_**EVP recording: "... Boy,... get out!..."**_

"_**And a few minutes after I caught that first EVP, I caught a second one that sounded very intelligent.**_

_**EVP recording: "...Yeah, that's the gun, you gonna shoot me?..."**_

"_**It's very exciting when we get to hear voices respond to our questions like this."**_

**Lockdown continues...**

_**Zak's camera...**_

_**He was sitting on a chair by the window, and looked out towards the creepy sky. He looked back towards the bed, and saw it was shaking. He leaned closer to see if it was moving, or if it was just him, but it was moving clear as day.**_

_**Zak: **"Whoa," **He said, getting up and touching the mattress. It was indeed, moving and very noticeably. He pointed his camera towards the bed to film this strange movement. **_

_**Zak: **"Are you making this bed shake?" _

_**He waited for a response, and wasn't prepared for what he got.**_

_**Zak turned around and saw something moving out of the corner of his eye.**_

_**Zak: **"Whoa!"_

_**Zak's commentary...**_

"_**Nothing could have prepared me for what I had seen, I could see a shadow moving across the room behind me, and it looked like it was hunched over like someone who was struggling to stand straight. Luckily, I filmed it with my camera, and I also got an eerie EVP recvording right after I saw this strange shadow pass by."**_

_**EVP recording: "...Don't touch my bed!..."**_

"_**Is this Stephen reacting to me touching his bed, where his body had fallen when he was killed?"**_

"_**After spending all night locked inside the theater, it was time to leave and review our evidence. We got some really cool EVP recordings, as well as footage."**_

"_**Whether or not the mystery surrounding Matilda's, and Stephen's murders, one things for sure, their spirits as well as the spirits of loved ones, still haunt the fallen theater."**_


	19. After the lockdown

Chapter nineteen

After the exhausting lockdown, the team packed up and headed back to the hotel. Kate slept on the way back with her head against Aaron's shoulder. All four of them went into their rooms to sleep awhile after their long but successful investigation. Their flight back to California wasn't scheduled until twelve o clock noon the next day, so they had time to catch up on sleep and overlook some of the evidence they got before they went back to the office.

**Kate's P.O.V**

I woke up at about three o clock in the afternoon. I would have stayed asleep longer, but the beds in that hotel where so hard and bumpy the floor would have been a better option if it wasn't so dirty. Even Lyra didn't sleep on the floor and barley wanted to touch the bed. I got up and felt a bad strain in my back. "That's what I get for sleeping on a rock," I thought, making my way to the bathroom. I had changed into sleeping clothes before I climbed into bed since the ones I wore smelled like the theater. The theater had an old house smell to it, which was fine except it was haunted, and my experience in the theater was a lot more scary than I could have pictured it. So to save myself from having nightmares, I changed clothing. I hopped into the shower and cleaned myself up since not only did the theater smell old, dirt was coming in through the holes in the walls and windows, and dirt was gonna give me allergies. When I came out of the shower with my hair up in a towel to dry, I heard my cell phone vibrate. I went over to the nightstand that it was placed on and answered it. It was Lance. It was a relief to hear from him, especially after being around a ghost who died from the illness he had. And it would be nice to tell him about the lockdown which was probably the primary reason he was calling.

"Hello?" I said, as I sat down on the bed beside Lyra. "Hey, I tried to call you earlier, why didn't you answer?" Asked Lance, who sounded more impatient than sick. That was a relief despite his attitude. "I went to bed, I was tired and put my phone on vibrate." I replied, copying the same sounding tone as him. Having been put in place, Lance continued the rest of the discussion with a better sounding tone. "Well, how did it go?" He asked with eagerness. I unwrapped my hair from the towel and began to brush it as I explained how the lockdown went. "It was very different from what I was expecting." "Meaning?" "Meaning, it was a lot scarier than I thought, and the ghosts where even more active than I thought they would be." "They always choose the highly active locations for lockdowns." Lance explained. "Well, they don't fail at that, 'cause the theater is very scary." I replied, walking over to the vanity table with my straightening iron in hand to straighten out my bangs. "Did you get any activity yourself?" Asked Lance, sounding very curious. "Yes," I replied, beginning to run the iron over my bangs. "Almost all of the activity happened around me," "Oh! Tell me!" He cried excitedly. "Well, I can only tell you that I think one of the ghosts liked and spoke to me, and that I got a bizarre picture before the lockdown of a figure in the upstairs window. I'm not sure if it's a ghost shot, but I'm gonna look at it after I get my hair fixed.

"What else did you get? I know you must have gotten more," Lance urged. "I can't tell you anymore, it's not allowed. Wait until the next episode to see." I replied, running my fingers through my wavy hair. "I'm your best friend, you have to tell me!" "Want to see me fired?" I stated, making him quiet. "Never mind, when you coming home?" He asked changing the subject. "I'll be home tomorrow at two, are you feeling any better?" I asked, pinning my hair up in a bun and tying a scarf around my neck. "I went to the hospital last night for treatment, and I feel better today. "He replied. "I told you to cook those waffles enough! Salmonella was one cause of death for one of the ghosts." I replied, hoping to bring some concern to his cooking habits. "Oh, you won't tell me about what evidence you got, but you'll tell me about how one of the ghosts died to prove a point!" He replied sarcastically. "Lance, you know you need to be more careful, I'm not planning on living with you much longer, and I can't come over every week to treat a new sickness in you." "Why don't you just stay than? I'm gonna miss you if you go." "I can't," I stated, placing my brushes back in their bag. "Why not?" He whined. "Because your to obsessive about cleaning!" I replied with a laugh to lighten the argument. "I am not!" He insisted. "Yeah, you are. That among many other things." I replied. "Your hard to live with too," he replied to try to irritate me." I know, that's why I'm leaving." I replied, not falling into his trap. "Fine, love ya, and see ya tomorrow." He hung up before I had a chance to say goodbye. I rolled my eyes and threw my phone on the bed beside Lyra.

I decided to overlook the picture I got of the third floor window before heading out to get some dinner. I picked up my laptop along with my camera, which had stored in it thousands of pictures of the theater, and sat down on the bed beside Lyra to begin to analyze the potential proof of ghostly existences. I was surprised by what I found after a good hour of analyzing.

**Aaron's P.O.V**

Me and the guys where eating in a diner owned by the hotel, talking about some of the EVP and video footage we got. I couldn't help but notice Zak was extremely uptight when he talked with Nick, and Nick looked about the same. I didn't know what could have been wrong, the whole trip had gone by awesome! We had cool footage, awesome audio and we actually got a whole nights worth of sleep we could get before we had to run through any more airports. I thought maybe they had a fight on the plane, because I did remember they where loudly whispering to each other, and Zak would occasionally look over at me and Kate, but what could they have been fighting about? I decided to investigate the argument myself.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked, in a more serious tone. Whenever I talk like that, they usually know I'm being serious about something or mad. Nick was the first one to reply. "I'm fine," Zak only nodded his head as he sipped some water. I knew they where lying to me, usually they are a lot more pleasant to be around, and I didn't see why they would argue since we had an awesome lockdown with a new crew member. "Guys, come on, I know there's a problem." I said, trying to get them to tell me what was worth fighting about. Nick looked at me with an eyebrow raised and replied, "problem? What are you talking about, I am fine." "Same here," Zak said with his mouth full.

Please! If they think they can make me believe their lies after all the years I've been their friend, they got another thing coming! I sighed and took a minute to think about what I could honestly say. "You know, you guys always take me for a fool. I mean, you always lie and tell me things are cool when your both on the brink of killing each other. Please, don't try to lie with me, and don't taint young Kate with it either!" They stared at me not sure how to respond. I got an amused look from Zak after a second though. "So, before she come out to have some dinner with us, would you mind telling me what's going on with you two?" None of them spoke up, which obviously meant that I caught them in a lie, but that didn't mean they would tell me what was wrong, but at least their wouldn't be anymore lying now that I caught them red handed.

"Were fine," Zak said sharply, being the only one willing to reply. The way those two guys where acting with silence and irritability, was a clear sign they weren't going to tell me. I didn't push them, I figured if I did anymore a really bad argument would brew. And plus, one of them was bound to tell me,... eventually.

Kate came out to us moments after with something in her hand that looked like a picture. She smiled and took a seat next to me as she greeted us. I really do like being around her. She's nice and she doesn't pick on me like the other two do. "Hey, what's up!" I said throwing an arm around her. "Oh, I just got up and had a long conversation with Lance on the phone." She replied. "Is he okay?" "Yes, he sounds like he's getting better. It's a relief to hear from him after coming in contact with a ghost that died from the sickness he has now." She replied with a laugh.

I looked towards her left hand which was tucked in her shirt pocket, and noticed the picture she came out with sticking a little bit out of her pocket. "Hey," I said as I pointed towards her hand holding the picture, "what's in your pocket?" She looked down at her pocket and pulled out the picture. "Oh, it's a picture I took before the lockdown, of the outside of the house, and I wanted to show it to you guys." She replied placing it on the table. Nick and Zak where looking closly at the picture like I was. Zak then reached one of his hands over and picked it up.

**Zak's P.O.V**

I took the picture in my hands, and could immediately tell there was something in the upstairs room looking outside the window. Nick looked over my shoulder to see what I was seeing and could also see it right away. "Hey!" Aaron cried. "Let me see!" I turned it towards him, and he could instantly see what was in the window too. "Whoa!" He cried, falling back in his seat. "Whoa is right, when did you take this?" Asked Nick, looking closely at the picture alongside me. "I took it before we had the walk around. I could tell right away there was something in the window in the picture right after I took it. I looked back up at the window right afterwords to see if it was there, but it wasn't. It even appeared to have more light shinning through the window then it did in the picture." She explained, pointing to the shadow in the picture.

I was absolutely stunned by the evidence she got. A beginner never gets evidence like this on the first investigation. More advanced investigators have a better chance at finding evidence as gold as what I was holding in my hands. Of course, my first experience with ghosts wasn't exactly rookie material. (It involved flying bricks, and walking shadow figures.) I looked at her shy face, and could tell she wanted approval from us of what she caught. "Awesome job," said Nick, flashing another one of his stupid flirt smiles. "Awesome!" Aaron cried, giving her a high five. Me, on the other hand, responded a lot more shy and laid back. "I can say without a doubt that this is one of the most amazing ghost pics I have ever seen." She stared at me for a moment with her big brown eyes wide and fixed on me, then she smiled and replied with a chuckle, "Oh, well, it was nothing really." Her shy behavior was one thing that I had a hard time resisting, so I quickly handed her back the picture and hurried off to find some cold drinking water to wash my beat red face.

**Kate's P.O.V**

Words can't express how happy I was when the guys told me how impressed they where by the photograph. Not only did it show that I was a good photographer, but a good ghost hunter as well. Well, beginner any way. I especially appreciated Zak's opinion. He was the boss, the leader, and the man who looked like he knew what he was doing and where he was going, and I guess I wanted him to tell me if he liked the photo... Okay, I also wanted him to like it the best 'cause I'm crushing on him pretty hard.

But at the same time, I was also scared they where gonna think I was trying to hard to be a good ghost hunter, or I was trying to show off, which is something I would never do. So the reactions I got from them where very relieving to me.

After Zak came back looking soaking wet around his shirt collar and on his face, we went on to having a nice meal together. Me, Nick and Aaron had a lot to talk about while Zak stayed silent. It looked like he was in a deep state of thought the entire time. And when he wasn't thinking, he smiled and stayed quiet. He's so quiet all the time, but it's cute if shyness is what you like in a guy.

It was about eight o clock when we got done eating and talking. We walked back under the bright night sky and chilly night winds without coats, so the walk became more of a run to get back inside the hotel. Me and Aaron raced each other to see who could get back inside first, while Nick and Zak where silently walking behind us. "Aaron!" Nick cried loudly. "Stop racing her! Your a big loser if you can't beat an eighteen year old girl!" Aaron looked back briefly and replied, "She started it!" And of course, I'm the one who got inside before him. "Ha!" I cried happily, with my hand held high. Aaron made it inside a few seconds after with Zak and Nick. "Fine, you won." Aaron replied, trying to catch his breath. "I am the champion!" I cried again, as I extended a hand toward him, while he was hunched over and panting. "You owe me ten bucks!" He looked up and began to laugh along with me.

"Oh! When I made a bet in the beginning you said no, but now that you've won all of a sudden it's yes!" He replied, pushing my hand away. "That's because I wasn't sure if I could beat you in high heels." I replied pointing down at my feet. "Believe me Kate," Nick said, as he began to chuckle. "It's easy money." Aaron rolled his eyes and hurried up stairs to his room as me, nick and Zak laughed at him.

Suddenly, the effects of tiredness came over my mind and body. I didn't realize I was still extremely exhausted from the lockdown the previous night. "Oh my," I said, as I yawned and stretched my arms. "I am very tired now, I think I'm gonna retire for tonight." I began to walk towards the elevator slowly feeling the exhaustion kicking in. I opened the elevator and looked back at Nick and Zak who where looking right back at me. I smiled and waved at them in return. "Goodnight, I'll see you both in the morning." I said quietly. "Goodnight, and don't forget about the flight tomorrow morning at ten thirty." Nick replied with a wave. "Alright," I replied. I looked directly at Zak who had his eyes on me the whole time. I felt like I needed to check my face for any flaws he was staring right at it. All he did to say goodnight was wave and smile. I did the same in return.

The elevator doors shut and as I went up towards the eleventh floor, I couldn't help but think about how I was gonna handle Ashley once I got back home.

Certainly, I knew she would be watching the next episode once we get done putting it together, just to make sure I wasn't doing anything flirtatious around Zak. I don't want to say I felt threatened, but I kinda did. I wasn't guilty of any sort of flirting or attempted man stealing. But if feelings where considered flirting I would have been dead ages ago. I may have a crush on him, but I also think realistically about things. I know for a fact he has no interest in me and he never will. Why? Because I'm not a perfect supermodel like Ashley. Despite her attitude and unladylike behavior, she beat me by a long shot. I know he has no interest in an eighteen year old college sophomore with the body of an average girl. In my eyes it's beautiful, but I don;t know what he see's through his eyes, and I actually don't want to know. I went to bed that night with all this in mind.

**Zak's P.O.V**

I was wide awake in my bed at about eleven o clock at night. I couldn't sleep, couldn't stop my mind from racing. I was thinking constantly about how I was going to approach Ashley about Kate. I knew I needed to, I don;t want there to be another episode involving Ashley and her unneeded jealousy.

To express how I feel about the whole experience I had about having Kate being a new member of the GAC, I can't express. She is an awesome edition to the GAC. She proved to be much braver then I thought she would be, a fast learner and quick to follow directions, has a good eye for paranormal phenomena and can even trigger some of it. And I guess I was feeling very eager that night more then ever to confront Ashley about this issue. Now I was feeling the burning flames of determination in me to make this okay with her. Sure, I want Ashley happy with me, that's my first priority, but after spending to much time with Kate, I wanted her friendship also. I mean, I don't have a bigger crush on her now then I did before, so that means I can control my emotions, so I don't really fear getting stronger feelings for her anymore now. Course, there's always that voice in your head that says so otherwise.

But despite the fact, I didn't want to miss out on a good friendship with her, and being as close as I could possibly get with it still being appropriate.

I looked up at my large ceiling fan watching it spin slowly almost like it was trying to hypnotize me. What's scary, is that I think it actually did! I got an idea as to how I was going to approach Ashley on this issue, though it was the very last method I wanted to use. But unless you've been in my shoes, you wouldn't be able to think of anything else. I thought about it for a while longer and got this urge in me to _do it._ "Fine, it could be suicide, but I'm gonna do it." I stated loudly. I drifted back to sleep with a plan made and my mind at ease.


	20. The talk

Chapter twenty.

The very next day, the crew took a plane back home. It was about twelve o clock noon when they're plane took off, and it wasn't going to be long before they got back home to San Diego. Maybe an hour or so. While most everyone was energized and with good spirits, Zak was not. He didn't sleep well the night before, having thoughts of what to say to Ashley or even how to approach her on the subject, kept waking him up all through the night. He got an estimated two hours of sleep. After trying to doze back into a sleepy state for hours, by four o clock in the morning he gave up and took a walk around the city while everyone else slept. He didn't want to tell Nick or Aaron about what he was planning, and he didn't want Kate to know either. He didn't want to hurt her anymore or even scare her about the situation.

But the night he spent awake and stressed wasn't spent in vain, he did think of a plan, a good one too. Although, it would require a lot of courage to approach Ashley on the situation, and it would take the best he could to put her in a good mood before telling her his thoughts. She was a little bit more tolerable to be around and to reason with if she was _extremely _happy.

They got back to San Diego around one o clock. The sunny sunshine state had been missed by all, especially Kate. Missouri wasn't a bad place to travel to, it was the fact that the ocean was so far from her. The ocean was one of the main reasons she wanted to live in California in the first place,... and of course, Sea World!

The guys had carpooled over to the airport, so they left together after saying goodbye to Kate as she left in her car. Usually, when they got back from a lockdown, Zak would let everyone have a few days off to rest up before they had to review their evidence and spend a few weeks making the new episode.

The entire ride was silent. Zak wasn't talking to wither one of them while he drove down the freeway for Aaron's apartment. They didn't know why he was so quiet, or had been so distant that day. He didn't even say good morning to them. He only said goodbye to Kate when she left, but of course they knew he would do that. Nick was sitting in the front with him, and tried to ask him why he was so quiet, but Zak wouldn't reply. Once he dropped Aaron back off at his apartment, he made a huge effort to get nick back home as soon as possible. He still was suspicious of Nick possibly being a little _to friendly_ with Kate, but he didn't want to deal with that now, not that day of all days. He stopped the car outside of Nick's condo and gestured for him to leave. Nick said in an irritated tone before he exited the vehicle, "goodbye Zak, I hope you come into work in a few days without the attitude." He slammed the car door and grabbed his bag from the trunk. Zak zipped off moments after that and dropped the car back off at the studio where it belonged.

The guys would sometimes take the company car to the airport, since sometimes it was easier to if they had to leave for the airport after work together, and the car by the way was a big black SUV.

Zak dropped it back off at the studio and took a cab back home to his condo, which was located not to far from the studio, and close to where Ashley lived. He went inside his home and went straight for his desk phone that sat by the front door to check his messages. Usually, Ashley would leave several messages on his desk phone daily if he wouldn't answer his cell phone at work. Zak had a strict rule about how many personal calls the crew could receive at work. Only a few on none busy days. He wouldn't even let anyone use their cell phones all that much unless it was a personal call lasting more then five minutes, or if it was an emergency.

His condo, was very nice and personalized to his own liking. It was big for one thing, and he kept it dim lit most of the time. He wasn't fond of bright lights, so a few table lamps filled the rooms with a dim soothing light. His living area was pretty big and furnished very modern. He had two leather couches that faced a plasma TV that was mounted on the wall beside a few spooky pictures he had on either side of the TV. He had an iron coffee table in front of the couches with a remote and a few books on it.

The kitchen was another story, it was even bigger then the living area, and had stainless steal appliances along with black granite counters. A big lamp that hung on the ceiling gave off a brighter light, compared to the other ones that lit his living room. He didn't cook much in his kitchen, so his fridge wasn't very full. All he had for a table was a card table that could fold up to the size of a small ironing board sitting by a window closed up by a big thick curtain. The table had only one chair, and a second he kept in a closet for when Ashley would come over to see him. That would be the only time he would try his hand at cooking, but Ashley preferred to have him take her out to eat.

His bedroom was his main hideout. It had a huge kingsized bed in it with jet black coverings and four big pillows. The walls where painted a deep red and had ghostly images he took from his lockdowns on the walls, and some other paintings where from local artists who loved to paint pictures of spooky or Gothic things. Besides a computer desk and dresser, he had a big stereo where he would play his favorite music. There was also a red door that led to a big bathroom.

So really, his house was a lot like a bachelor pad even though he wasn't single, he liked to have his private personal space away from everything and anything that brought him stress, and that included Ashley.

Ashley had for a long time, pushed Zak into letting her move in with him, and even though he wanted to, he just couldn't let his own space go. He knew if he let her move in she would turn his house into Barbie and Ken's dream home in a matter of hours, and she was gonna make him too.

He listened to his answering machine tell him he had eight messages. He didn't bother listening to the first seven since they where all ones of Ashley complaining that he didn't call her back three seconds after she called. The eighth one was always different most of the time. Usually a little more pleasant. He played the message back and listened to her talk in a babyish manner:

"Hi Zakky! It's me your baby, I was just wondering if you wanted to do something once you get back. Call me and let me know baby, I love you!"

he sighed and picked up the phone. "Well, I better get this over with," he said, shaking his head and dialing her number.

"Hello?" A cheerful voice said on the other line.

"Hi babe, it's Zak." He replied, trying to sound enthused.

"Zakky! I missed you soooo much! Did you get my message.

"Yeah, all of them, listen, do you want to go out with me to our usual spot tonight?" he waited a minute for her to think.

"Of course! Pick me up at seven!"

"Alright, love you, bye." He hung up the phone and took in a deep breath. He looked in the wall mirror that hung on the wall above his phone and shook his head as he looked at his tired stressed expression. "Look at you Zak," he went on to say as he touched his cheek with a hand. "Your falling apart, you have to end this now, and hopefully it will work out okay."

**Later on that night...**

**Zak's P.O.V**

I could barely hear the nightclubs newest mix Ashley was screaming at me so loud. "You what!" I covered my ears and looked around as the crowds would stop and look at us. I was so humiliated, maybe I should have done this at my house. "Ash, please calm down and let me explain." I said in an embarrassed tone. The blood shot veins in her eyes got bigger and redder as she began to freak out even more. "How can I be calm when you want to leave me for that little brat!" "Ashley, I'm not leaving you for her, I'm just asking you to hear me out on this." But she wasn't going to have it, she got up to lock herself in the bathroom like she normally would whenever we fought in public, but tonight wasn't going to be one of those usual nights. I grabbed her by the arm gently and urged her to stay. "You don't love me!" She screamed, calling attention to the crowds who looked at me like I was being physically abusive. I leaned towards her ear and is as calm and soothing tone as I could, "Sweetheart, please sit down and talk to me, I really need to talk to you." It took a second, and she didn't say anything for a second, but she loosened up and agreed to hear me out. "Three minutes," she said impatiently, sitting down with her arms crossed facing away from me. _Choose your words wisely Zak, _was all I thought as she began to time me with her pink watch.

"Okay," I cleared my throat before continuing. "I need you to listen to me about something Ashley." She rolled her eyes and kept her eyes on everything other then me, but at least her silence meant she was listening. Anytime there is an issue involving our relationship, she cowers away and completely melts down. Always accusing me of wanting to break up or hating her, or not speaking to me at all until I cave and drop the subject. I guess you could say that's a lot of the reason why we have such problems in our relationship.

I continued my discourse before she timed me out. "Ashley, you have to understand," I paused a second, taking a moment to take in as much strength it would take to finish the next half of the sentence that could very well be the end of my life. Never before where words like the ones I was about to say had ever come out of my mouth. (Her's, yeah.) She turned her head facing me to listen from the seriousness in my voice. I made sure to keep that tone and keep my stern look fixed on her to show I needed her to do this for me.

"I am a grown man, and I have the right to make friends with whoever I please. It doesn't mean I hate you and want to break up with you, it just means that I would like to have the ability to make friends without you freaking out all the time."

"And why all of a sudden have you chosen this girl to be your new little friend? There where plenty of other girls who could have been your little friends, why is this one so special to you?" Her tone started to sound very pitiful and sad, her usual attempt to make me feel like a bad jerk. But I knew exactly what she was trying to do, and did the exact same thing.

"Baby, she's not special to me, you are." "But the guys are making jokes about you liking her, why are you letting them if it isn't true?" "I'm telling them to stop babe, they bother me too." She pouted her lips and began to make herself cry. "Don't you love me? I feel like she is trying to replace me!" She cried, beginning to sob. I got up and scooted next to her and cradled her to calm her down. "Honey, your my number one girl, I don't feel like you trust me around her."

She looked up at me and replied, "I do trust you, it's little miss picture girl I don't trust. Your so adorable and she'll want to take you for herself." I looked down at her and kissed her forehead. "I know your scared of that, but why do you think I went to so much trouble to show you she has no interest in me? I wouldn't have hired her if I thought she was going to be a problem, or make you uncomfortable." I didn't know what to make of her expression she was making. It wasn't angry, but it wasn't sad either, it was more like a stressed out worried look, but since I had never seen that on her, I didn't know what to make of it. I was just happy that the screaming had stopped. Calmness was a change, and one I was hoping to have forever. Those few moments of peace she spared me where probably the most enjoyable ones in our entire relationship. (Sad, I know.)

She looked up at me again and began to rub my chest with her finger. "I don't know Zak," "What if she tries something funny?" I looked down at her and said in a soft tone, "I personally guarantee it won't happen. "And if it does?" She asked in her usual manner. I thought on it and said the first thing I knew would keep her calm. "I'll fire her myself if she does begin to flirt." I felt no reason to fear doing what I told her I would do, I knew Kate didn't like me, so what was there to risk? She sighed and shut her eyes as she replied to me in an irritated tone, "Fine Zak, but there better be good results from this or I'll be angry with you, and I'll choke the little picture girl." It may have been a threatening answer, but it was the best and first argument I had ever won with the woman. I smiled and kissed her lips softly. I looked into her eyes and could tell she wasn't happy, but she was trying to be there. "I know this is hard for you babe, but this will let me know you trust me, and that will make us a stronger couple."

I think she liked hearing the last part, 'cause she drew herself closer and wrapped her arms around my neck with a smile on her face. "Does that mean we will get more serious?" She asked in a babyish tone. "Yeah," I answered, drawing myself closer to her and wrapping my arms around her waist. "Well then," She said while giving me light pecks on my lips, "That's an offer I'm not willing to pass up, are you?" I gave her light kisses back on her lips and around her mouth and replied feeling relieved and comfortable, "That's alright with me." We kissed a while and didn't say another word. While we made out, all I could do was occasionally look up and thank God the whole thing turned out good. After making out for a good ten minutes, Ashley sat up on me and began to ruffle my shirt collar, and placed my baseball cap I was wearing on her own head. "How about we have a romantic night all to ourselves starting now, let's leave!" I picked her up and kissed her roughly on the lips. "Alright, let's go!" She giggled as I ran out of the night club carrying her. We got into my car and drove off for a night of fun and romance. I could finally sleep in peace.


	21. Moving out and moving on

Chapter twenty one

Over the next three months, things started to get considerably better for Kate. In that course of time, she had been on over nine lockdowns, and each time she got some good evidence for the shows. Now that she was an official member of the GAC, the show became more popular. And things around the studio where getting better as well. Her relationships with Aaron and Nick grew stronger, and after the talk Zak had with Ashley, he and Kate grew closer, though he didn't treat her the exact way that nick and Aaron did. For instance, Aaron and Nick hugged her often when she left or when she came into work, while he would just pat her on the back or shoulder. He didn't want to get to physical with her because he knew his feelings for her would get stronger, but it still wasn't enough to stop him from liking her. For some reason, and he didn't know why, his feelings for her grew stronger as the time went by, and as she got more comfortable in the office with everyone. He couldn't hear her laugh at any of Aaron's jokes without smiling or having his face turn bloodshot red, and if she even gave him the slightest most innocent touch, like if she took something like a pen out his hand, he would blush and get nervous or sweaty and would have to leave to find water.

The guys where getting more and more suspicious of Zak's feelings for Kate too. They knew he was lying especially when he would get all uptight and defensive when they asked him. Nick however, managed to keep his feelings for Kate under wraps. He managed to convince Zak he didn't like her, and he believed him.

On the plus side of things, Zak and Kate's communication got better. They could talk together comfortably and joke like they could with nick and Aaron.

As for Ashley, she stopped by the studio often to visit Zak, and monitor Kate's behavior. Everyone knew why she was there, but Zak told them to just let her do what makes her feel comfortable. Each time she went in, Kate would always put on a a fake smile and be nice when she stopped by. Ashley still, though, had suspicions of Kate's feelings for Zak. But she was willing to try this out in order to improve their relationship. Ashley's biggest dream was for Zak to marry her one day, and nothing, nothing in her mind or sight would stop that from happening. No circumstance, no job, no woman period.

Kate was aware of Ashley's anger towards her, and new it was only gonna get worse instead of better. Her feelings for Zak where getting stronger now that he was bonding with her more, despite his constant shy behavior. She figured it was a usual way for him to act so she didn't ask questions. But she became increasingly jealous of Ashley everytime she came over. She didn't know exactly what went on behind his closed office door, but she could sometimes hear Ashley giggling.

That left her with a disappointing fact and reality. She knew he and Ashley where very much in love, and that he would do anything to make Ashley happy. She knew he would never have interest in an eighteen year old. Oh how silly she felt when she fantasied him telling her that he loved her occasionally at night when she would lie in bed. But that was all she had. With all this made up in her mind, she resided herself to the fact that he would never like her that way, so the only thing she could do was be as close of friends as possible. That to her was much better then nothing, and they where becoming good friends.

Her apartment situation, however, was different. She had spent weeks after her first lockdown looking for a good place to live that wasn't to far from work, but more importantly, not to far away from school. She and Lance took tours of some apartment complexes for weeks with no luck, but finally found one that was a little closer to school but five minutes longer away from work. But she fell in love with it and was willing to deal with the cons of it being a little further away from work. It was also the only apartment building that would accept pets, which was another reason why it took her so long to find a place to live. However, there where problems with it. The walls where painted lime green, a color she dreaded on anything, the carpets where old and moldy and there where cracks in the walls of the kitchen as well as in the bedroom and bathroom. So she had to pay the landlord to fix these problems and remodel some before she would agree to move in. So that was going to take three months to do, that included all the repairs, remodeling, and moving in all the new furniture she bought. So she was stuck living with Lance for those next three months. But all the problems aside, things where much better then before quite considerably.

**Present day...**

**Kate's P.O.V**

It was a nice warm Sunday afternoon , and me and Lance where eating at our usual cafe together. It was my last day living at his apartment. That afternoon I was going to move into my new place. He didn't want to let me go, but I was sure ready to live alone without someone pestering me to be obsessively clean all the time. I love Lance, but have limits. I stirred the sugar into my iced tea as Lance and I had our usual private talks whenever we ate at the cafe not to far from either one of our homes.

"I'm telling you girl," said Lance in a panicked tone. "I'm gonna get the hantavirus! I told you that rat was big and it looked ill when I picked it up inside the brown paper bag I trapped it in."

"Lance, don't lie to get me to stay, there was no rat in the house. If there was, you would have begged me to catch it for you since you have a phobia of them." I tossed my hair back to get it out of my face. Lance had been lying to me all week trying to find an excuse for me to stay longer, but I knew all of what he was doing. He glared and went back onto our original topic we where on before the lie.

"So, when you going back into work?" I had not been in work for over four days because of large amounts of school work I had to do. I was relieved to have a boss that was also a good friend who was always willing to work around my busy work schedule. I can't wait for the day I graduate,t hen I won't have to be on this crazy cycle. But I still have a good year and a half to go.

"I'm going back in tomorrow, it's time for us to plan our next lockdown." I replied. "How are things with Zak?" Lance asked, poking my shoulder and giving me a devious smile. "We're just friends Lance, we've been over this already!" I shoved him playfully with a grin. "It doesn't matter how you treat him on the outside, on the inside, your feelings for him haven't changed at all since you started working for him three months ago. In fact, I think you like him more now." It turned my head away quickly to avoid having him see the guilty look on my face. "Lance, I told you already, I don't, I can't!"

"Oh, but yet, the heart wanders in different directions all the time." He replied in a blissful tone. He tugged at my arm urging me to look at him. I did once I had control over my expressions. Which was now a serious intent gaze. Usually, my serious looks stops Lance from asking anymore questions in a topic I no longer want to discuss, but he didn't stop this time.

Taking my hand in his, he said with a smile and comforting voice, "Honey, I know you like him, and I know it must be painful for you to admit, but you can't hide the truth." I turned my head away again with a sad expression on my face. I looked down at the concrete ground and sighed. "Lance, I won't lie, my feelings for Zak have increased by 90%, but that's only because he and I have bonded a lot more these past few months." "How?" Asked Lance with great curiosity. "Well, we joke around at the office, we talk a lot more then when I started working there, and he along with the other guys gave me a nickname."

"What is it?" Asked Lance, with an eyebrow raised.

"It's Bambi, I don't know why, they just started calling me that after about a month."

I replied, sipping my tea.

I thought Bambi was a cute name for me, I just didn't know why they liked it so much. All three of them call me that, even Zak. I have to admit though, when he calls me that I feel the butterflies waking up in my stomach. But hey, I figured that was as far as we would go as friends. Of course, Lance probably thought we where more than friends in Zak's mind, but that's Lance for ya. Always with these absolutely impossible ideas... Okay, he was right about me getting this job, and if it wasn't for him pushing me to apply, I probably wouldn't have done so. So I guess he is right about some things, but this, definitely not!

"Well, I think Zak is flirting with you secretly behind Ashley the bimbo's back!" Lance exclaimed, giving me a thumbs up and a wink.

"Oh Lance, come on! Whenever she comes into the office they're all over each other. It gets to the point that they make so much make out noises in his office, that I have to leave for my break early just to get away from it. How would your theory be correct?" I asked, raising a hand to signal the waiter we needed the check.

"He could be in denial and trying to hide his real feelings for you." Lance replied, placing five dollars on the table to pay half the bill.

I too, placed five dollars down, and also a tip. We usually take turns tipping the waiter each time we eat out together.

"Yeah right Lance, denial? Don't think so. What I have with him now is about as close as I'm _ever_ going to get with him."

We walked for Lance's minivan, and got in. Of course he didn't shut up about it the entire drive home.

"You don't know that, I could be right. Why are you taking Ashley's rude behavior?" He asked, making a quick left turn almost rear ending the car in front of us.

"I'm not taking it 'cause I want to for goodness sake I just can't do anything about it. I can't control what he does, nor would I want to. Ashley is an impossible opponent to defeat. Beside the point, I'm not the only one who dislikes her, Nick and Aaron hate her just as much as I do, and Zak knows we don't like her." I explained, placing my sunglasses on and checking myself in my little compact mirror.

"But if he knows you don't like her, why don't you say anything to Zak, why do you just take what she throws at you?

His question was one I often asked myself. Of course he knew I didn't like her. How could he after the way she first treated me? I felt no good reason inside myself to keep it between me, myself and I, but I guess if I had maybe one that was worth having, it would be that I know how much he loves her, and if I am going to be his friend, then like any good friend I need ti support his decisions. I trailed off in thought after Lance asked me his question and looked out the window. I looked up at the palm trees as we passed by them and sighed. _What can I say?... Perhaps,... the truth _I thought for a brief moment. Lance poked me on the shoulder when we made it to the last stop light before home and said softly,

"Hey, you alright?"

I looked back at him and gave him a slight smile in response.

"Come on, open your heart out to me, you need it if you want to survive this whole ordeal."

I hesitated to tell him, but I did need to confide in someone, and that someone wasn't going to be Nick or Aaron. To my knowledge, they don't know I'm crushing on Zak, and they never will. So Lance really was the only one I was comfortable enough to tell. I took in a deep breath and looked out the window as I explained to him my reasons as to why I allow Ashley to treat me the way she does:

"It's not that I'm being spineless, you know me, I won't let anybody treat me like garbage like that, especially someone who's body is only 25% real." Lance stopped at a traffic light and looked at me with concern. "But Kate, your allowing her tot treat you like a dog, and that isn't right." He stated sharply.

I looked back at him and went on with my discourse:

"Lance, I don't want to allow it to go on, but what I have been able to do with Zak is all I'll ever be able to do as long as she's around. I don't want to mess that up. If this friendship requires me to bend a little bit then I will. Plus, I don't want her to think she gets to me if I went and told Zak how angry I am at her and asked him to talk to her for me. That would make her come by the office _more,_ then I definitely would go insane. I'm barely able to see her the amount of times she comes by in the week anyway." I rested my chin in my hand and placed my elbow on the window as I looked outside.

"You don't know what I'm facing because your not in my shoes. So how can you tell me to do something if you don't understand the circumstances?"

I think when I said those words it hit him home. He didn't urge me anymore to fight with her, he actually in fact looked like he was sorry for me, yet proud of what I was putting up with. When we arrived back at his apartment, we stayed in the car and embraced each other for a while.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I just hate to see you suffer like this. I know you really like Zak a lot, and it must suck to have to see him all over Ursula the sea witch all the time." He said with compassion in his voice. I kissed his cheek and replied, "It does hurt, but me and Zak are friends, and if she makes him happy, then I'll be happy seeing him happy. That's all I want for him is to be happy. And friends do things like this for each other. Why do you think Nick and Aaron put up with it too?" Lance nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay, good point. Let's get you moved in your new apartment then." We went inside and spent twenty minutes taking my stuff out to Lances car. It's a good thing he has a minivan, so everything will fit. The whole time we packed he was almost in tears every time I asked him to take something to the car for me. I really did feel bad for him though, and I have to admit I was going to miss him despite how difficult he is to live with. He is one of my very best friends, and he was the only one I had after I moved away from Queens. So memories of all of that where being left behind as I was preparing to start a new better life on my own.

Once we where packed, Lance drove ahead of me with my stuff while I drove behind him with Lyra, and a few of my bags that had clothing in them. We drove a good twenty minutes away from his place until we arrived to a nice apartment complex close by Oldtown. Oldtown was one of my favorite parts of San Diego, since a lot of my favorite spots where close by. The Whaley house, a haunted house I used to frequently visit when I first moved to California, a few window shops where I loved to shop for religious items like crosses, bibles and candles, and of course, Sea World wasn't to far away!

We parked our cars in a big spacious parking lot in front of the building where my apartment was located in. Once out of the car with Lyra by my side, I noticed a black old looking Sedan parked right next to me. I smiled and said happily, "Michael's car!"

Michael was one of my good friends who grew up with me in Queens. He was an aspiring photographer like me, and went to the same school. He's a serious guy, pretty stressed out all the time due to work, school and his girlfriend who was also a good friend of mine, Leshawna. Michael may have been a serious person, but he was an awesome friend. I could always talk to him and ask for his help whenever I needed it, but later on, I would always hear from him how much I had stressed him out that day or week. Michael was going to be my next door neighbor ironically. But that was exciting for the both of us since the only time we could see each other was when we where at school. And even then our conflicting schedules sometimes kept us apart.

With eagerness, I grabbed one of my clothing bags and followed Lance upstairs to the fifth floor of the building where my apartment was. It was going to take several trips up and down the stairs to get all the things I brought inside my new place, but that's why I brought Lance to do half the manual labor for me. I already had work to get to the next day and I needed to retire early that night if I could.

We stopped outside a wooden door with the number '24' on it. I took the key to the door out of my purse and unlocked the door. I opened it up and slowly walked inside amazed by what I saw. Lance followed in behind me and did the same. "Wow," he stated, "the renovators did a good an amazing job Kate, this place is awesome!" I circled around the room with wide eyes filled with happiness. "it's absolutely immaculate!" I hugged Lance happily with excitement.

The apartment was truly a beauty. The living area was completely finished the way I had requested and had all the furnishings I had bought placed in the designated areas. First off, the walls weren't that horrible color they where before, now they where a soft pastel purple, with the base boards and door frames painted white. The cracks in the walls where gone, and the floor boards had been replaced with nicer hard wood floors. My living room had a soft white sofa big enough to lounge on, but not to big that it would take up to much room for walking. On the left side was a recliner for reading and and end table with a desk lamp. A coffee table sat in the center of the room in front of the couch with a few books and a desk lamp on it. In front of it was a forty inch wide screen television on a stand that stood beside a plate glass window covered with black drapes.

The kitchen was right across from it, and it was a bit smaller then I had hoped for in her new home, but big enough for one to two people to love comfortably in. The counters where a dark granite, as requested, and the kitchen was complete with stainless steal appliances. The stove was electric, as all the stoves in every apartment in that complex was, and that was a good thing too, because I'm afraid of anything that is powered by gasoline.

I walked across the living area, and opened the bedroom door to a beautiful fully furnished sleeping quarters for myself, and Lyra. My bed was a full sized bed with a black bed spread and decorative pillows as well as ones for sleeping. Lyra usually sleeps on my bed, but also has a doggy bed that sat on the floor at the foot of my own bed. I had a big walk in closet, that I didn't really need. I don't have a big clothing collection like a lot of women have, so it was going to look silly only having several outfits and a few pairs of shoes. I'm not one of those women who obsesses over how she looks all the time. Of course, I like to look pretty and I manage to make myself look nice, but it's just not my number one concern.

There was a door in my room that lead to the bathroom which I loved! It had a big shower system and a nice big bathtub for a more relaxed way to get ready for the day ahead. The whole bathroom was remodeled the way I liked it, but it was probably the most expensive room in the entire apartment to redo since it needed the most work done on it.

After taking a quick tour of the apartment, me and Lance carried all the bags into the building and left them in a pile by the front door. "Can I help you with unpacking?" Asked Lance, looking down at the pretty sizable pile of bags. "Nah, I'm good, go on home I'll unpack over the course of the next couple of days." I replied. That was my way of saying: 'Lance, get out of my new place!' I love him sure, but now I was on my own and wanted to be alone to settle down. He slowly made his way to the door as I followed him to show him out. As he placed his coat on, he looked at me and began to tear up. He grabbed me and hugged me tighter then he ever had in our entire friendship. "Oh Kate!" He cried, with tears streaming down his face. "I'm gonna miss you! Please stay over for one more night at my place!" I couldn't help but smile and chuckle a bit, I didn't let him hear me though, or he would have had a cow.

It was just funny seeing him do this not because I thought his obvious sadness was funny, but because he cries to almost _everything _that we do. When we go to movies, he cries even if it's not sad over the I quote: 'actors dedication to the work,' whenever he has to have his car worked on, he claims he cries about that because of the _old memories being replaced with a tune up, _but I think it's because he doesn't want to know how much it will cost him. He even cried at birthday parties, claiming it's because of all the awesome memories we will have once we are ninety and living in a nursing home.

But still, I hugged him back and comforted him. "Honey, I can't stay forever and even if I tried, life just wouldn't let me." "but your going away forever and leaving me!" He cried, now reminding me even more of how my mother reacted when I moved out. I kissed his cheek and helped him out the door. "Lance, I'm not going away forever, I just moved out and live in an apartment not to far from you, we can still call each other, go the cafe on weekends, and shop at the mall like we always had. The only difference is that we won't have to see each other all the time." He stayed silent as he walked out the door and stood in the hallway. I think he liked the idea of living alone again, he just was afraid to admit it because he didn't want to hurt my feelings, but I was the one trying to kick him out. That wasn't going to hurt my feelings.

He said in a quiet bummed out tone, "okay, then I better leave so you can get ready for bed and stuff." I walked out the door and kissed his cheek again. I reached into my pocket and took out a small box with a red bow tied around it and handed it over to him. He looked at me unsure of what it was. "What is this?" He asked. "It's a little something to thank you for all you have done for me." I smiled and placed my hands on his and looked up at him with eyes almost teary myself. "if it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be where I am today, thank you." I made a mistake saying that to him, 'cause he sobbed right there in the middle of the hallway for a good half an hour. I sat with him to try to calm him down and so he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of any one passing by, but people where already walking by and starring as they passed us in the hall for the elevator.

I managed to calm him down and send him on his way after that quite funny yet touching display after a good hour, and was inside my new place getting Lyra fed and ready for bed, as well as myself.

I lied down in the bathtub with my hair pulled up in a bun, relaxing in the bubbles and hot water. The steam rose from the water and went up to my head and hair causing some frizzing, but after the day I had, I didn't care. "Oh yeah." I stated loudly with a relaxed sigh, "this is how I pictured living on my own." I baked for thirty five minutes, then settled down in bed with my favorite fantasy novel titled: Masques by Patricia Briggs, until I fell asleep with Lyra at my side.


	22. A more dangerous lockdown

**Authors note: **I'm really sorry this took so long to make, i've been really busy and dealing with a lot lately. I'll try not to let this happen again or to often. Here's the long awaited chapter twenty two! Enjoy all!

Chapter twenty two

**Kate's P.O.V**

I was rudely awoken by the sound of thunder outside my window. It woke me up with a panic as I looked toward the window in my unusually dark room. Lyra was cowering under the bed whimpering and whining scared of the loud noise coming from outside. "It's okay baby," I said, as I made my way to the window. I opened the curtains and looked out to a view of an environment that looked like the end of the world was soon near. The winds where so bad, they blew by huge dumpsters on wheels down the street, and even managed to knock down a few small tree's. The sky was dark and lifeless, and not even a plane was seen flying by. I began to wonder if there was some sort of tropical storm brewing. I hurried out to my living room and turned on my TV as I sat down nervously on the couch with Lyra siting beside me shaking and huddling up to me for comfort.

I turned the channel over to channel three weather and news, and caught it right as the weather man Lance happened to have a crush on, give a new weather report.

_We just got a report from our meteorologist, and he has just informed me that severe thunder storms where seen crossing the skies from Los Angeles, several hours ago. They are fast approaching the San Diego area, and are likely to last all through the night, but we are hopeful they will begin to die down a bit around six o clock tonight. There is no threat of a tropical storm, or any kind of disaster, but caution should be taken when outside for the lightning that is also being produced. _

I turned the TV off and hurried to get ready for work now that I knew it was safe to leave, but I couldn't take Lyra with me today. Because anytime there is a thunderstorm, Lyra needs constant comfort from the noise. I decided since it was last minute, to ask Michael to watch her for the day for me. I know he's allergic to dogs worse than Aaron is, but Lance was to far away for me to take her over before work. I didn't even have time to call and ask Michael if it was okay. I put Lyra's leash on and grabbed my things running out the door. I knocked on Michael's door hoping he was home. He opened up after a second in his robe and holding his mug full of coffee. It looked like he hadn't been awake for long.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked in a groggy tone. "Did you see the weather report this morning?" I asked. "No, what is it?" I frowned and placed my hands on my hips. "Michael, can't you hear whats going on outside?" He turned his head towards his window for a moment, then looked back at me and nodded. "Now I did." He replied sarcastically. "Well I have to go into work, and Lyra needs some close attention and comfort today, will you please watch her for me until I come back tonight?"

"I don't know, I mean, I think Leshawna is coming by today and I know she hates dogs." By the way he answered me signaled to me that he was lying, but he didn't need to sound suspicious in order for me to find out he was lying. I knew what he was telling me was a lie. "Mike, Leshawna doesn't like ferrets, not dogs. Your just saying that so you don't have to watch Lyra for me today." He was silent as he turned his head away from me, knowing he was caught.

"Mike please, I don't have time to argue with you about this!" I replied getting irritated. "Kate, this isn't the doggy hotel, why don't you just take her with you? Didn't that Zak guy tell you it was okay?" He crossed his arms securing his robe more. "Yeah, but you know what it takes to keep Lyra from freaking out during a storm, and the weather man said that the storm was going to last all day and possibly through the night." I replied. He looked down at Lyra who was shaking and cowering by my feet. I gave him a sharp look with an eyebrow raised. "Come on Mike, I know you feel bad for her, she's just a little dog." I said, gesturing towards her.

"How come she can go into haunted houses, but not hear a little thunder?" After he asked me that, loud thunder shook the building making Lyra bark and whimper. I knelt down beside her and stroked her head and covered her ears. I looked up at Michael with a serious look. "Come on Mike, I need to get to work, now will you please watch her for the day?" He rolled his eyes and stuck his hand out for me to give him the leash. "Fine, but you owe me if I have an allergic reaction to her!" He cried, yanking the leash out of my hands. I smiled with satisfaction and patted Lyra on the head quickly, as I ran for the elevator. "Thanks Mike I owe you one!" I cried cheerfully, as I got into the elevator. By the look he was giving me, he was probably thinking, _yeah, you do._

Some of the roads where closed on the roads due to some trees falling into the street and causing accidents, so it took me a while to find roads that would take me to the studio. By now I was about a minute late for work, and today of all days was the day we where going to plan where our next lockdown was going to be at. Once I finally got to the studio, it was a pain in the but to get inside the only working elevator in the entire building. There where to many people almost exceeding the wight limit getting into it at once, taking it up to many floors. There was actually a line in front of the elevator one of the security guards set up for safety reasons. He pushed me to the back of the line of course, since the people who had been there longer could get on first. I looked at my watch as the line slowly moved, and saw it was eight thirty nine. I was sure the guys upstairs probably thought I couldn't get through the roads or that I was dead.

"Come on now! Get on!" The security officer cried as he shoved me on the elevator, smacking me up against some lady. "Sorry," I said trying to back away from her, but there was no room to stand further away! There was, by my point of view, about thirty some people inside with us, almost bursting the elevator doors open. It was going a lot slower, and that worried me. What if it stopped all together, or even broke down and fall? We where already up seven stories. I looked away from the elevators buttons and pretended I wasn't in a moving overworked elevator. I was the first one out when the doors flew open, shoving all the people out of my way. Luckily, I was the only one who needed to be on the ninth floor. I ran down the hallway for my office.

I threw open my office doors and sure enough, Aaron was looking out the window to see if he could find me. Couldn't he see my car? Wouldn't that tell him I was safely in the building? Guess not. He heard me come in and quickly looked over at me with a relieved look on his face. "Your alive!" He cried cheerfully, giving me a quick hug. I only gave him a little one not to close since my coat was soaking from the rain. "Try not to touch me to much buddy, I'm a wet rag." I replied, giving him a slight hug. "I was just waiting for you, how bad was it getting over here?" He asked, shutting the curtains to the window he had been looking out of. "Terrible," I replied, making my way for the coat closet. "Most of the roads I take where closed, so I had to find a new route over here." "I hear ya, I had to get here about six this morning because of all the storm warnings there where on the TV this morning." Aaron replied, leaning up against the wall by the coat closet. I walked out of the closet fixing my frizzy hair after the harsh winds blew it into a rats nest. I combed it with my fingers and sighed as I hit a few knots I feared couldn't be taken out without a comb.

"I hate wind, It destroys hair!" I stated, gently working through the big nasty knots. "That's another reason why I don't have any!" Aaron replied with a laugh. I laughed along with him as the last knot came out from the stroking of my fingers against it. I braided my hair in a side braid so that way it would be less frizzy and ruined if I had to go back outside. But by how it was outside, whether we could even get home safely later that night was a mystery. I walked over to the window and peeked through the curtains to look out at the sky. Aaron stood behind me and looked over my head to view the gloomy sky. The rains came pouring down as if the great flood was coming back to wipe off all the living beings off the face of the earth, while the lightning and thunder shook the earth with terrifying sounds and images of mother natures great power. It scared both him and me as we gazed at the sight of all the definite dangers if we left the safety of the building.

"Aaron," I said cutting the silence. "We better seriously think about what we are going to do if we can't leave the office tonight."

"Maybe we could bunk on the couches in the waiting room." Aaron replied with a laugh.

"But where would Zak and nick sleep?" I asked with a smirk.

"The floor." Aaron replied. I chuckled at his joke for a second before Zak and Nick came out to meet with us about the lockdown.

**Zak's P.O.V**

I saw Aaron and Kate looking out the window and immediately spoke out on the dangers there where standing by a window during a lightning storm. "Guys, get away from the window before you get electrocuted." Kate turned her head towards me and replied trying to sound like a disappointed child, "but Zak, it looks so awesome out there!" "Yeah dad, can't we go out and play?" Aaron added making a stupid face at me. "Not unless you want it to be the last game you ever play again." I replied, motioning for them to come over. They came over and stood across from me and Nick. I had in my hands an e-mail I had gotten from a man who worked at Bobby Mackey's Music world, requesting for us to come out and do another investigation.

We had already done an investigation two years earlier, and had experienced some pretty terrifying stuff soon after our visit. All three of us had been followed home by something. Even the people around us where affected by the spiritual beings. It was both an exciting thing for me to receive the invitation and it was also a worrisome thing for me since Kate had never been to Bob Mackey's before. At least not to my knowledge.

Since she started doing investigations with us, I've made sure we didn't go to places with even poltergeist activity in it, to keep her as safe as possible until she had enough experience, and when she was ready to go into a darker place. I wasn't sure if now was a good time, even though she had been on more then a handful of investigations with us, I was afraid she would get followed home by something.

I asked Nick and Aaron if they thought it was a good idea for her to come with us to Bob Mackey's, and

both of them thought it was funny how I picked out the worst scariest haunted place in America as her first evil spirit lockdown. But, with all things aside, it was up to her whether or not she wanted to go. I wasn't planning on making her go. I would rather call up the guy and tell him no then to leave her behind while we go on our next lockdown.

**Nobody's P.O.V**

Once Aaron and Kate where standing my listening, Zak began to explain to them where their next possible lockdown would be. Clearing his throat, he began to explain while Kate stood by ready to write down on her clip board all the instructions he would have for her.

"Okay guys, this next case is an awesome one." Zak said with enthusiasm beginning to show in his voice. "I just got an e-mail from a guy I've been trying to contact for the past two weeks. Well, today he finally replied to my e-mail." "Who is it from?" Kate asked tilting her head to the side slightly. "It's from a man named Darren Ploy, and he is the manager of a place me and the guys have been to called Bobby Mackey's Music World." Zak replied, looking down at Kate. "Have you ever heard of Bob Mackey's?" He asked, hoping she would say yes. She thought back on it trying really hard to remember if she had heard of such a place. Then she looked back up at Zak and replied, "Isn't he a country singer?" Zak chuckled and replied with a laugh, "yeah, but he owns this place, which happens to be a haunted nightclub. Have you not heard of it before?"

She thought back again, but no lace came back. "No, I haven't. All three of you have been there before?"

**Kate's P.O.V**

Once I had asked that, they looked at each other shaking their heads, and then the looked at me with sharp gazes. I figured they all probably could remember vividly of what they saw, I had no idea why they looked so wide eyed and had gotten so quiet. "Yeah, we have been there before." Nick was the first one to reply to my question.

"Well, what is that place like?" I asked, not knowing what I was in for.

For the next forty five minutes, I was told shocking stories as to what had happened over at Bob Mackey's. And I hate to say this, but I had no idea how bad it was. I thought it was just some stupid night club they wanted to go and see to meet girls. This nightclub was like no other according to them. I was convinced it was a bad place by the way they sounded and by all the horrific stories I heard about the place. The murder of Pearl Bryan, Satanic rituals, the supposed "gateway to hell" and how it got there. They also told me stories about what had happened to each one of them personally after their lockdown. Nick told me about things in his house moving at night, and Aaron had told me about what had happened between him and his ex wife as a result of the haunting. I had no idea Aaron had been married before. I felt so bad for him after he told me.

And of course, Zak told me about how Ashley had her rings and necklace pulled off of her by unseen hands, but that was a funny story I wish I had been there to see for myself. I struggled to keep myself from laughing about it in front of Zak.

After they finished telling me everything they experienced and knew, they eagerly waited for me to decide whether or not I should go. Zak, of course, like he always does, kept asking me over and over again if I wanted to go or not, and kept on saying: "We won't make you if you don't want to."

Normally, I usually tell him I'm fine, but this place really did sound like Hell. I'm not saying that it's true that this place has the actual gate to hell in it, but it did sound like it wasn't haunted by spirits from hell. I had to stop and decide since I had never been in a place where evil resides. All the places I used to go to before joining the GAC usually only had human ghosts who weren't malevolent or evil in any way. But I figured eventually I would have to go to a place like this probably a lt more then the usual mildly haunted places they have taken me.

They might not have known this, but I knew they where mainly demon chasers. How? Well, Lance told me that most of their episodes where about evil spirits and demon filled locations rather then then places they had been taking me for the past three months. I also figured this out because I started watching Ghost Adventures on TV and had seen episodes of the three of them in demon haunted places. It did scare me a little, especially seeing how some of them got possessed by demons. That scared me more since a human can cause more damage then a spirit is able to.

So with all this considered, I finally decided what I was going to do. I was going to try this place out for a number of reasons.

One, I Wanted to show them I wasn't a big chicken and could handle a place like that.

Two, I could tell they really wanted to go and I didn't want to ruin it for them.

Three, it would give me even more advanced experience with my ghost hunting career if I did go, and four, well, I wanted to try this out and see how it went. Maybe it would be to much or maybe not, only trying could answer that question for me.

"Okay, let's go." I answered, after keeping them waiting for five minutes while I thought it out. Though it felt more like an hour rather then five minutes. The guys looked at me in a surprised way. They probably thought I was going to back down and say no. I guess I surprised them with my gutsy attitude and my bravery. Well it didn't come from watching them I was born that way. "Wait," Zak replied, giving me a serious look with his eyes. "Are you sure? Kate, this place is really scary and pretty dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt." "I know it's a little bit more then I've faced, but I want to try this out. Don't worry so much." I replied, trying to convince him to let me go. I didn't know that was going to be an issue next. I thought for sure we would be thrilled if I said yes.

We spent a couple of minutes discussing it, then he left me alone while he went to discuss it with Nick and Aaron. I was hoping they where siding with me by telling him to stop acting so scared about be going. After all, he's the one who suggested Bob Mackey's, not me.

After five minutes staring at the ceiling and listening to the rain and thunder outside, the guys finally came out. Aaron and Nick with satisfied looks, and Zak with an unsure one. He approached me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him wondering what he was doing. He looked down at me and took in a deep breath.

"Alright, we'll go to Bob Mackey's, but I'm going to figure out a way to keep you as safe as possible during the lockdown. So you better listen to every word I say, got it?" With the seriousness in his voice, I knew he didn't want me to argue. I can tell when he's serious and when he is just joking, and this was no joke. I nodded my head in agreement, seeing as how this was probably the only way we where going to go. "Okay Zak, I promise you." I replied firmly. "Good," he replied taking his hand off my shoulder. "Then go and schedule a flight out to Wilder Kentucky tomorrow sometime in the morning, and be sure to find us a hotel close by to stay at. Also, get us a van to carry out equipment in." He left quickly after commanding me all these things. I looked over at Aaron and Nick and asked, "why is he so freaked over this?" the shrugged their shoulders and hurried back into their offices to finish their own work. I hurried over to my computer and began my daily job plus all the other nice stuff Zak asked me to do for him.

**Nobody's P.O.V**

Kate, and the entire team for that matter, found it impossible to get the work done due to the terrible storm outside. The weather caused the internet connections to go bad, so she had to call the airport, hotels, car rental places, and had to also look up all these addresses by phone book. Usually, she would try to e-mail hotels and car rental places to get everything set. it was a lot harder doing it on the phone, especially since Zak had a lot of calls come in the day before they left for their lockdown. And to make the matter worse, the phone books they has in the office's where several years old, so she had to go around and find a book that was current. And to top it all off, no one could take a break that day since they needed to do everything without computer technology. It took an extra hour for everyone to get their work done. But by that time, the rain had stopped and the outside returned to normal weather. Except for the incredible amount of humidity there was. By the time the rain stopped, it was ten o clock, and their flight was scheduled to take off at ten the next morning, so not much sleep was probably going to be achieved. The crew left at the same time that night in a hurry and barely had a chance to say goodbye to one another. Kate was already needing to find a sitter for Lyra since she absolutely did NOT want to take her to a dangerous place like Bob Mackey's, while Zak needed to call up Ashley and cancel their breakfast date since the flight was leaving earlier then expected. And that task was going to take a good hour, since she always gets mad whenever he can't make it to a date.

**Zak's P.O.V**

As I drove back to my condo, scary thoughts where going through my mind about all the horrible things that could happen to Kate if I didn't protect her the right way. I was really starting to regret my decision to let her come with us, but I couldn't pull out of it now. I had already called the guy and told him we would be coming, and all the arrangements where made. And after the day I had at work, the things we achieved where going to be done tomorrow anyway. But I just couldn't shake off the feeling of something bad that was going to possibly happen if I wasn't careful. "Zak, your being paranoid, you need to stop." I said to myself, trying to calm down my fears a bit, but to no avail. "Am I being to paranoid? Is this safe for her? I gotta come up with something." I stopped at a traffic light, and for some reason decided to look out my window to the left of me. I saw the restaurant I told Ashley I was going to take her to the next morning. The acids in my stomach started to churn as I looked at it briefly and turned away. "But first, I better deal with Ashley tomorrow." I stated to myself.

I did need to focus on getting Ashley to reschedule out date for a different day, since that was already going to be a challenge. I figured there was plenty of time to worry about Kate later. But even then, I still won't have a plan.


	23. Zak's worries

Chapter twenty three

**Kate's P.O.V**

I woke up about eight o clock the next morning, I hardly slept a wink sine the storms outside had started up again. The sound of loud ground shaking thunder wasn't the thing that kept me up all night, it was Lyra. She was crying and paniced all night. I didn't have the heart to leave her like that, so I got up and stayed up with her. We sat in front of the TV together watching late night TV. We watched my favorite channel. And anime channel. Not much anime was playing that night, since the good anime only played in the daytime. But the pictures and sounds kept her calm. I however, was dozing the entire night. Finally, about five in the morning, the rain stopped and the sun came out brightening the room. I took that opportunity to sleep while I could. I decided to stay on the couch and sleep beside Lyra.

I heard my alarm clock go off in my room only two hours later. _No! Not now! Five more minutes!_ I thought, as I slowly sat up rubbing my eyes. The smell of the air after a shower was nice, but the humidity was not. It was already a naturally humid climate in California, but the rain showers make it worse. I looked over at an electronic clock that hung up on the wall and saw it was almost eight ten. Guess it was taking me longer to get up then I thought. _Man, I better get up. I guess I'll sleep on the plane for an hour. _I got up and hurried to get myself packed and ready to leave.

Now Lyra was going to be an issue. I DID NOT want to take her with me, since Bob Mackey's would be to much for her. I don't know what it was, but something was telling me not to let her come with us this time. But leaving her here would be a problem too, since Michael wasn't always able yet alone willing to watch her for me, and Lance was WAY to paranoid about the cleanliness of his house to have Lyra in it for the two days I would be gone. So I decided to call up a place I frequently took her to when my friends couldn't (or in Michael's case,) wouldn't help me. It was about twenty minutes away from my home, and the cost to board her was going to be two hundred dollars a night. It's a ridiculous amount of money to spend, but it was the nicest place there was, and the only one I could trust to take care of Lyra the proper way.

I packed up a little bag full of the things she was going to need, and threw it in the back of my car along with my own luggage for the trip. It was a race against the clock to get Lyra boarded, and then get to the airport which by that way was an hour away. And since the plane was going to take off at ten, it made it a lot more difficult to be on time. Like I said before, it takes about twenty minutes to get to the pet hotel, and once there you have to stand in line if you didn't make a reservation the day before online or on the phone. There wasn't even a guarantee that there would be room for her. And if that where the case, then she would have to come with me to Wilder Kentucky, and find a pet resort to stay at there.

We hurried over to the hotel and stood in line for an additional ten minutes. I sighed as I looked at the clock which now read eight fifty. _Hurry up!_ I thought as the line began to move. _Only an hour left!_ We got to the front desk two minutes later, and luckily they had only one room left in their big dog housing section. I quickly handed over Lyra's leash and the little bag I packed for her and kissed her goodbye.

I got back in my car and zipped through the city for the airport. Right as I got on the freeway, my cell phone rang. I pressed the button on my bluetooth and began to talk with Lance who was on the other line.

"Hey! What are you up to right now?" He asked me in his normal cheerful tone.

"I'm on my way to the airport to catch my flight." I replied, paying close attention to a teenager in front of me who wasn't paying ANY attention on the road.

"Where you guys headed this time?"

"Were going to Bobby Mackey's Music World." I replied, quickly changing lanes before the kid in front of me could hit me. There was a long pause on the phone for a second. I thought maybe Lance had gotten disconnected or something, but he was actually silent because he was shocked to hear we where going to Bob Mackey's.

"Your being serious?" He asked me with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Yeah, whats wrong?" I asked, knowing what was coming next.

"Haven't you ever heard of Bobby Mackeys? Do you not know the horror that building contains?"

"Lance, the guys explained to me what had happened in Bobby Mackey's, and they even told me personal things that had happened to them after they had their first lockdown there. Whatever you tell me won't be any different from what they have already told me."

"Be that as it may girl," Lance replied.

"You can't underestimate the serious dangers of this place."

I sighed and rolled my eyes as I turned the car into the airport parking lot.

"Lance, your talking to me like I'm three, I know better than to underestimate serious situations. I assure you, I'll be fine."

"And how will I know that?"

"Watch the episode this Friday." I hung up the phone before he could say another word. I knew Lance was only trying to warn me of the impending dangers, but I already knew everything I could about Bob Mackeys. The guys told me their stories, and I had read some books I checked out of the library about Bob Mackeys history. The things I read about that place where absolutely horrifying. I read from the time it was built to the brutal murder of a woman named Pearl Bryan.

I had also read about all of the demonic rituals that had gone on long ago, and one of the books even mentioned the place as being the "Portal to hell." I remember Zak had said at one point that Bob Mackeys was in fact the portal to hell. I can believe anything that he has to say about a location, especially if he has been there before. Zak isn't one to make something up like that.

I hurried through the airport and met up with the guys. All four of us where rushed onto the plane and soon we where on our way to Wilder Kentucky.

I sat with Aaron as usual and shared my new ipod with him. Zak was sitting with Nick several rows behind us. Zak barely said a word the whole flight. He had a worried look on his face the entire flight. Whenever e stopped to look at me he would smirk to try to look normal, but I could tell he wasn't okay, and so could Nick and Aaron. Problem was, I just didn't know what was wrong.

**Zak's P.O.V**

Once we landed in Wilder, we didn't stop to do anything but get our stuff to our hotel, and hurry on out to Bobby Mackeys. Our plane had to make an emergency landing in Austin Texas due to engine trouble, so we where stuck there for a good three hours. Once we got back into the sky, I realized that we where going to be about an hour late for our interviews with some of the workers at Bob Mackeys.

We hurried over to the nightclub with our cameras. About five minutes away from the club, I started to worry about Kate going inside. She really had no idea how bad it was in there. Some of the worst experiences I've ever had have been while I was inside the building and when I was in my own home after. I glanced back at her happy looking face and sighed. _Is this safe for her?_ I wondered.

Nick looked at me out of the corner of his eye while he was driving. "Zak," he whispered. "Are you okay?" He knew perfectly well why I was acting so weird that day, he was just being dumb asking me that question right in front of Kate. I nodded my head slightly to signal that there was something on my mind. Nick winked in response and kept on driving.

That was my way of telling him to shut up until I could speak to him in private. Once we got off of highway thirty seven, about three minutes away from Bob Mackeys, the car needed to be refueled. We stopped at a gas station to refuel. I decided to talk to Nick about what was on my mind at that point since that was the only time before the interviews we would have to do it. I took him into the seven eleven while Aaron refueled the car for us.

We stood in line to buy some sodas as I began to talk to him. "Alright buddy," I began to say before he cut me off.

"Zak, I think I know why you've been acting weird."

"Okay, what?" I asked with my arms crossed.

"I think your worried about Kate going on the lockdown with us."

It wasn't surprising to me that he knew that. I figured he could tell that was the thing that was bothering me. Nick had been my best friend for a longtime now so it wasn't easy to keep a secret from him.

"Dude, I just don't know if it's a good idea to let her go into a place as dangerous as this one. We all know what kind of nasty things that are running around in there."

Nick didn't reply right away since he also agreed with what I was saying.

"I mean, I know she's not a baby and I shouldn't treat her that way."

"Yeah, you know how angry she gets when any of us do that." Nick replied with a chuckle.

"But I just can't shake this feeling I have. I really don't know if we should let her come with us." I said, as I paid for my drink.

"Yeah but Zak," Nick began to say as he paid for his soda. "You can't just stop her from coming with us. She's gonna be angry at you."

"Nick, I'm not gonna risk her life if that's the possibility we're facing here. Besides, I'm not gonna be the one to talk to her about all of this, you and Aaron can help me."

Nick shook his head as he went on to drink his soda. "No Zak, your not gonna get me and Aaron in trouble along with you. I personally don't think she's in any immediate danger."

"And as far as Aaron goes," Nick continued. "He doesn't seem to worried about this either. Your the only one who's worried like this."

We walked to the exit and stopped to look out the glass. We could see Kate standing outside beside Aaron while he was pumping the gasoline into the car. They where talking and laughing at some jokes Aaron was telling. We smiled and just stood there for a minute.

Now I was really stuck. I didn't want to go out there an disappoint her by telling her I was to scared of her going into Bobby Mackeys, but at the same time, I didn't want to hold her back. I was really stuck at that point.

Nick looked at me and said exactly what I was thinking. "Your going to have to go out there and talk to her."

I looked at him and nodded my head. "But first, I think we should do the interviews before we talk to her about this." He added.

I didn't want to wait that long to speak with her about it, since the lockdown was tonight, but maybe she would get a better idea as to what kind of dangers she'll be facing once she goes inside and takes a look around. I was more comfortable with her going inside in the daytime. At least she wasn't going to be locked in with no way out if there was a problem.

I agreed with Nick and decided the best thing to do would be to let her look around herself.

"Okay, but right after the interview we need to talk to her. All _**three **_of us." Nick didn't want to be apart of this whole issue, but since we where all a team he agreed to talk to her. Aaron, well, he'll do it if we ask him to.

We walked out of the seven eleven with smiles as if we hadn't spoken about anything serious. Kate and Aaron stared at us in a weird way wondering why we looked so happy. "You guys okay?" Asked Kate as we approached the car.

"Yeah! Come on we have an interview to get to." I replied, guiding her back to the car wit my arm.

So with everything decided, I took in a calming breath as we headed over to Bob Mackeys, knowing that I could breath easy for at least an hour.


	24. Pictures and Pinetree's

**I am Sooo sorry for being gone so long! Life has been crazy as usual for me! i hope you all enjoy the very very very long awaited chapter 24! Enjoy! **

**P.s I'm sorry...**

* * *

Chapter twenty four

The weather was getting bad as we got on the last highway before arriving to Bobby Mackey's music world. The storm clouds where really rolling in. "Wow," Aaron said looking out the window. "It looks like we're in for a storm. Pretty creepy huh?" "Yeah your telling me." Kate replied, looking over Aaron's shoulder at the dark and depressing sky. The sudden change in weather made Zak feel uneasy. Nick was trying to concentrate on getting to Bob Mackey's before the rain came, but a traffic jam was beginning to form. "Come on!" He cried, honking his horn at a slow moving winnebago in front of him. "Move that stupid piece of garbage off the road grandma!"

Zak leaned his head towards nick and began to whisper his concern to him. "Nick, the weather is really getting bad out there." He whispered. "I know that!" Nick exclaimed angrily. "That's why I'm trying to get miss daisy out of my way!" Zak looked back at Kate who was still amazed by how quickly the rain was coming in. "What a creepy coincidence!" She stated. "This is the perfect setting for all my pictures!" She began to look through her camera bag for her waterproof case to put her camera in, so she could take her shots. "My teachers are gonna be so impressed by these shots! Honor classes here I come!" She cried with excitement, as she prepared her camera for the coming storm.

Zak smiled slightly and quickly looked back at nick with a worried look. "Nick, what if this is God's way of telling me not to let her inside Bobby Mackey's?" Zak whispered with fear written on his face. "Zak, your being paranoid. God isn't trying to tell you anything!" Nick replied. "Yeah, but could you blame me? I've never had to protect someone so young like her on a lockdown before. I don't want to mess up and have her hate me." "She's not going to hate you for anything. She doesn't even know you've been purposely picking out safer locations for our lockdowns because of her. If she knew that, she'd probably get upset instead of feeling flattered."

**Zak's P.O.V**

Nick did make a point. I still couldn't figure out what made Kate tick. I never know if something is going to make her angry or not. She's a very independent young lady with a mind of her own. She has common sense, but a mind of her own.

"Come on buddy," Nick whispered with a grin on his face. "Relax, let's just get to Bobby Mackey's and get through the interviews, then we'll go from there about what to do." I looked out of my window at the darkening sky above me. "Fine," I replied silently to myself. I still couldn't shake the thought that something bad was going to happen.

**Nick's P.O.V**

We got to Bobby Mackey's ten minutes later then we had told the staff, but we couldn't help the traffic jams and horrible weather, which hadn't gotten any better since we arrived. In fact, it got worse. The lightning was the thing that worried me the most since it's dangerous. The rain hadn't come yet so really it was a lightning storm. The last thing I wanted to do was get stuck in Bobby Mackey's the whole day before our lockdown that night because of the stupid rain, but Zak wasn;t worried about that. He was more concerned about Kate's safety during our lockdown. I understood why he was concerned. Bringing someone who is not only young but who is inexperienced with the demon world into a place labeled the 'portal to hell', was nerve racking. I was worried myself and I'm sure Aaron was also, but I know Kate, and I know she's not like Zak willing to do something stupid or life threatening for a thrill. Her head was screwed on tighter than his. But that doesn't mean the demons won't come after her as well as me and the boys. They came after Aaron and he doesn't get as involved with the demon provoking as me and Zak. So, I guess all in all,... I am a bit worried about her.

**Nobodies P.O.V**

Zak was the first one to zip out of the car with Aaron close behind him with the camera rolling. While they started filming some scenes for the show, Kate decided to go and take the photo's of the outside of the building. Nick volunteered to go with her worried about her going alone. She agreed to let him go with her, but it was a little strange that he wanted to go with her. He never went with her during her photo session.

Nick had his camera rolling and began to film her as she walked up ahead of him towards the building. She stared at the decaying walls and creepy exterior and began to feel uneasy the closer she got to it. She placed her camera around her neck and clenched it in her hands. "Pretty creepy huh?" Nick said, following close behind. "it certainly isn't what I expected." Kate replied. "Wait till you go inside." Nick added.

**Nobody's P.O.V**

Zak and Aaron finished filming their scenes, and they where ready to go and interview the workers at Bobby Mackey's. "Nick!" Zak cried, trying to find out where nick was. "Kate!" Aaron cried. They waited for a second, but all they could hear was the thunder from the incoming storm in the distance. Which indicated that they needed to hurry before the rain came. "Where are those two?" Aaron asked, with his camera still recording. Zak looked at the camera and gave it a stressed look. "We better go find them." He motioned for Aaron to come follow him. Aaron followed with his camera still recording. He kept it locked on Zak who was walking briskly around the creepy building to find Nick and Kate.

Zak and Aaron made a complete circle around Bobby Mackey's about three times and couldn't find Nick or Kate anywhere. Aaron tried to get Zak to stop circling the building screaming they're names after the first time around, but Zak insisted that they where somewhere close by. Now with no result to their chase, they had to try to find them in another way especially since the started looking, the thunder was getting louder meaning the storm was coming closer.

"Dude, call Nick or Kate on their cell phones. We should have done that way before we took the other two trips around the building."Aaron suggested with a chuckle. "We can't, remember the rules I set? No phones during shooting or lockdowns." Zak replied.

Then voices where heard through the thickest of some trees that nestled close by the building. No doubt, it was Nick's voice. "I hear them, come on." Zak exclaimed, taking off into the thick tree's and bushes. Aaron struggled behind him. He lost his shot of Zak and could barely keep his balance trying to walk over the tree roots and fallen branches. Then he could hear Zak's voice calling out to nick and Kate, followed by louder thunder right over their heads. "Oh man!" Aaron said, now moving much faster through the thick foliage.

Nick and Kate where taking pictures of an abandoned tool shed they weren't sure belonged to Bobby Mackeys or not. "Wow Kate," Nick said, "I never knew this tool shed was close by. I wonder if it's haunted." Kate snapped a pic and turned to look at Nick with a smile. "Maybe!" Then screaming was heard from the thicket of the tree's. "Kate! Nick!" Both Nick and Kate looked toward the trees and could easily see something moving through. "Who is that?" Nick asked with his camera on the tree filming whoever was coming. Suddenly, Zak emerged from the pine and birch. "There you guys are, what are you doing? I've been looking for you guys for twenty minutes now." Zak said, picking the pine needles off his shirt and out of his hair. Kate walked over and started brushing the pine needles off his back with her hand. "We found an abandoned tool shed and decided to take some pictures of it. It's really creepy." She replied.

Nick looked around wondering where Aaron was. "Where's Aaron?" He asked. Zak looked back towards the tree's and sighed. "He didn't make it." Kate and Nick looked back waiting to see if movement was going to be seen, but it was quiet and still. Nick hurried over and began to push branches out of the way as he called Aaron's name. "He was right behind me." Zak said with a laugh. "I hope he didn't get mauled by a rabid chipmunk." Kate finished brushing the pine off hi back and moved her way towards the front. She began to gently pick the needles off his front above his abdomen. Zak began to blush from the feeling of her soft fingers gently poking at his body.

Kate was actually believe it or not, not to uncomfortable with picking the needles off his clothes like that.

Ever since she joined the team, she discovered that Zak did a lot of crazy dangerous things for the show. Sometimes it would end messy. So she was used to being the nurse of the team now. After the first three lockdowns, she decided to carry a first aid kit with her for doctoring up any wound that may come along.

"Zak, why didn't you just come around the back and hop over the fence like me and Nick?" She asked, while picking off the last of the sharp needles. "Fence?" Zak replied in a confused tone. "Yeah, didn;t you see it?" She pointed towards the metal fence.

Zak rolled his eyes and cussed quietly to himself, but Kate happened to hear him and began to chuckle. "Zak," she replied with a laugh. Zak smiled at the sound of her laughter. He smiled back and laughed along with her. "Sorry, didn't want you to hear me."

Their moment was disrupted by Nick who was followed by Aaron, who was covered in the pine needles much worse then Zak was. "Hey guys!" He said as he placed his camera on the ground. Kate stopped helping Zak and hurried over to help Aaron.

Zak gave Aaron a dirty look while Kate was helping him get the pointy sharp pine needles off of him. He had completely ruined their moment. Of course, Aaron didn't see the anger in his eyes. He was to busy telling Kate the epic tale about how he got lost in the tree's. Her laughs brought a smile to Zak's face. Now, it was worth it.

The rolling thunder up ahead was getting louder and worse by the second. "Come on guys!" Nick said, opening the gate that let him and Kate in. "Let's get inside the building and get the scenes before the rain rains us in. That's when Zak's heart dropped and his stomach began to churn. Now it was time to go inside Bobby Mackeys and have her see first hand the horrors he and the guys faced before.


	25. Kate's reaction

Chapter twenty five

The swirling clouds above where beginning to move quickly across the darkened sky. The tree's where blown back so far the fear of them snapping like a toothpick was beginning to concern passerbyers. Zak, Nick, Aaron and Kate, quickly made there way around the building. Most of them hoped the fence except for Aaron, who wasn't very coordinated. They had to go and get someone to unlock the fence for them. The tool shed of course was off limits so Zak got ticketed for that.

They hurried and made there way for the entrance to Bobby Mackey's. Kate's eyes scanned the building as they got closer and closer towards it. She realzed that she was actually going to go into a place that was haunted by evil spirits. Something she had never done before. Something she had never experienced before. Something she wasn't sure how to handle. Except turning to her religious practices she learned as a roman catholic. Reading scriptures from the bible, praying for protection, holding a holy object such as a cross or some holy water, all she was taught that would keep her safe from evil. She wondered what the guys did to protect themselves. She never asked them since they never had gone to place that's occupied by evil before, so the subject never came up.

The guys looked confidant, but of course they did. They did things like this before so they where used to it. _Can I honestly be as brave as them?_ She wondered. Zak especially looked like he wasn't scared. His face was lit up with one of his famous grins as he walked up ahead of them. Her face blushed a slight dash of pink seeing how brave and cool he looked. And let's face it, his smile is a knock out!

**Kate's P.O.V.**

The entire time I watched Zak and the guys do the interviews I was completely nervous about what to expect. The manager of the demonic building was telling horrible stories about Bob Mackey's history, experiences with the paranormal, and weird things that followed him and his staff home. I just kept thinking to myself, _How could anybody stand working in a place that's filled with so much evil? _I looked around each room just scanning it with my eyes holding my camera up ready to take a snapshot. I stayed close to Aaron as he filmed. He occasionally looked down at me to see if I was okay since I was standing so close. I think he knew I was becoming nervous, afraid even. But I tried hard not to let them notice, because I still wanted to go on this lockdown.

The interviews ended thirty minutes later and so did the rain storm outside. The seemingly evil skies of pitch black with hot rain and rolling thunder where now deep blue skies and warm sunlight setting in the distance. Perhaps the earth was warning us not to go on the lockdown tonight.

I took my final shot and shook the managers hand. "Thanks so much for allowing us to investigate tonight." I said with a smile. "You are very welcome, and please do be careful tonight." "We will."

I headed back to our car to load my camera bag in the trunk.

**Zak's P.O.V**

The manager caught me right as I was coming out the exit. He looked very concerned. "May I speak to you for a moment?" He asked in a hush voice. I looked at the boys and signaled for them to come over. They hurried over with their cameras in hand. "Don't film this guys, he's worried about something." I whispered, making sure he couldn't hear what we where saying.

He took us under a shade far away from our car and began to tell us what he was concerned about. "Is that young lady fairly new to your team?" He asked, pointing to Kate who was standing by the car listening to her mp3 player.

I looked at him knowing exactly what he was going to say next. "Yeah, she is, are you worried about her?" I asked.

He looked at her making sure she wasn't watching and began to express his concern that I already had for her. "She is so young, I don't know if it is wise to let her in for your investigation. If she has never had experience with evil spirits before, this place is not good for beginners. I noticed as we where talking that she looked very nervous. That is not a good sign at all."

He raised his tired brow and said in a clear serious tone,

"Do not let her in this building tonight."

He walked back inside and shut the door with a loud thunk.

Now this guy confirmed my worst fears. Now I really didn't know what to do.

I looked at Nick and Aaron who also looked more worried than they had expresses before.

"Well, now what do we do now?" I asked with my arms crossed.

"He just confirmed my worst fears, any suggestions?"

No one answered me, what could we say? What could we do? We could talk to her sure, but she may not listen. I couldn't restrain her or force her. I felt responsible for her safety and now it seemed like I was failing before I could even try.

**Kate's P.O.V**

I was sitting on the back of the car on the running board listening to my mp3 player. My new favorite song was playing. Jet Lag by Simple Plan. I had been listening to it everytime we where on the road for long periods of time. But I couldn't listen to it in front of Zak, because then I would imagine him singing it to me. As embarrassing as it sounds. My eyes where closed and I was swaying my head back and forth to the music. Imagining all sorts of things that wouldn't ever happen. (All these things involved Zak on a white mustang, shirtless, on the beach, and trying to get me to come with him to go who knows where). As I fantasized about my boss, I didn't realize that he, along with Nick and Aaron where approaching me with grim looks on their faces.

They noticed me listening to my music oblivious to what was going on around me. Aaron reached a hand out and pocked my shoulder a few times. I opened my eyes quickly surprised by the rough pocking. "What gives dude?" I said, turning the volume down on my mp3. They didn't answer me though, the all looked like they each had something to say to me. I figured it wasn't going to be good since Aaron wasn't grinning as he usually does. Even in bad situations he could laugh. He didn't look like he was going to start laughing.

"What's up?" I asked, taking my earphones off. I looked at them with a serious look on my face eager to know what was so wrong. Moments ago we where all doing just fine. Aside from some rain and getting lost for a little bit. Nothing was totally wrong, at least that's not what I thought until Zak opened his mouth.

"Kate, sit down." Zak said. I raised an eyebrow and was silent for a moment before replying the obvious. "I am sitting Zak," Nick and Aaron stared at him as if he was a little kid becoming scared to tell their parents they did something wrong. "Oh, yeah, sorry!" He replied, rubbing the back of his head with his hands. I knew something was definitely wrong now. _Brace yourself Kate, this could be bad._ I thought while I waited for him to spit out what he wanted to tell me.

"Tell me already, what's the matter?" I asked getting impatient and worried.

Zak sighed and crossed his arms holding a serious look and position.

"Kate, me and the guys have been doing some talking," I became increasingly silent as he continued. "And we think that you may need to sit tonight's lockdown out." Zak looked at me like a little kid hoping for a good positive response. I just stared at all three of the guys wondering why they where kicking me out of the investigation. I didn't understand why. Like I said, things where fine moments ago. "What?" Was all I could get out. "Your kicking me out of the investigation? Why?" Nick decided to speak up on the concerns they had. "Kate, we aren't kicking you out, we just have some concerns about you coming with us." I stood up on my tired feet tall and with my arms crossed with an equally crossed look on my face. "Oh, and what concerns are these?" I asked, impatiently wanting an answer.

"Kate, I, uh..." Zak struggled to say. My eyes turned towards his and where fixed on him. "You what? You don't think I can handle a place like this?" I asked, feeling a little hurt. "No, I'm... we're just worried that something may try to hurt you. Believe me Kate, things have followed us home before." Zak replied. "Yes, I am fully aware of that, all three of you have told me about that." I answered. They looked at me with fear written on their faces, especially Zak's.

**Zak's P.O.V**

I knew trying to talk to Kate about this issue was going to be a problem! The more I tried to get her to understand my concerns, the more defensive she got. I could tell her patients was starting to run out fast. "Kate," I said in a gentle tone, "Why are you getting so upset?"

She turned her face away from me and stayed quiet for a length of time. Before I could say anything, she started to get angrier at me, and reacted in a different way that I didn't expect.

"This is because I haven't had any experience with demonic locations, isn't it?" We couldn't answer before she started to lash out again. "Or, it's because I'm a girl, is that it!"

"No!" I shouted. "None of that's true at all!" But she put her nose up in the air and cried, "Oh! I suppose I should just listen to you, is that what you want?"

"Kate, let me say something" I was cut off by her surprising response. "Look," she said, pocking my chest with her finger angrily, " I can handle this lockdown, I don't need you to treat me like I'm a baby!" "Kate, we're not treating you like a baby." Nick said, trying to calm her down. "Yeah, if we where, we wouldn't even have let you come out here, we are just a little worried about you is all." Aaron said, hoping he could get her to listen to our valid reasoning.

But it didn't pay off at all. "I'm going on this lockdown, so you boys better look out!" She opened the car and grabbed her camera bag and shoulder bag, and started to march down the road in a fast pace. "Kate! Where are you going!" I shouted, starting after her. She looked back at me with her hand out, gesturing for me to stop. "Don't follow me! I will get back to the hotel myself. When I do get back, do not come up to my room!" With that, she left in an angry huff.

Me and the guys just stared at each other completely surprised by the reaction we got from her. "That didn't go as planned," Aaron stated. "Ya think?" Nick replied with a sigh.

I just didn't understand, why did she react so angrily? Well, either way, now I had two problems. She was furious with me, _and_ she was going on the lockdown. Could my life get anymore complicated?


	26. An unexpected guest

Chapter twenty six an unexpected guest.

Zak sighed and went through the tapes he brought with him for the lockdown. Most where blank tapes but he had some tapes with old footage from past lockdown's at Bob Mackey's. He went through each tape in his hotel room in front of his TV which was built with an old VCR. He watched clips of himself and his boys being terrorized by the demons. Nothing but horrifying memories came back to haunt him as he watched. _How can I expose her to this kind of danger like this? _He shut the TV off and looked down at his phone. Maybe calling her and trying to talk some sense into her would be a good idea. _Should I?_ But he was already dialing her number while he questioned his impending action. He got her voice mail. He left a quick message asking her to come to his room to talk to him.

He hung up and lied back on his bed. Arms stretched out, legs hanging over the end of the bed and head under a pillow. "She's killin' me!" He exclaimed in a muffled tone due to the pillow.

_Five minutes later..._

A loud knock was heard at the door. Zak shot up awake from his brief nap. He got up and hurried for the door. Kate was there with her phone in hand and her backpack in the other. "Wow, you got here fast." Zak said, rubbing the back of his head. "Fast?" She looking at the time on her phone. "I got your message thirty minutes ago and tried to call you, you must have been asleep." She replied. Zak looked at the clock hanging on the wall by the door and it was indeed, thirty minutes after he left her the message. "Oh, I guess I'm really tired then." He stood to the side and gestured for her to come in.

She sat down at the end of his bed. "Your room in cleaner than Aaron's, he's living in a dressed up pig pen down the hall." her eyes scanned the room as she made herself comfortable. "Yeah, Aaron likes to make his hotel rooms feel more like home." Zak said with a laugh. He sat down next to Kate on the end of the bed. They didn't do anything more than just stare. On Zak's side of the bed he was silent and still. Like a little boy unsure of what to say to . Kate didn't know what he wanted and was waiting for him to start talking.

Zak looked at her face and at the slight smile she tried to maintain. What had happened earlier that day was still eating at her. He could tell. First he needed to work that out with her before he could argue more about her safety.

"Kate, I wasn't trying to make you feel like you couldn't handle Bob Mackey's, neither was Nick or Aaron." Kate looked away towards the open window not wanting to hear what he was saying. Zak silenced waiting to see if she was going to say anything in response. He finished his thought in case she decided to argue with him. "i just want to make sure your safe before we go to a place like bob Mackey's. Can't you understand that?" The last four words he spoke where more like pleading words of forgiveness. She looked back at him and turned to face him. He reached a hand out to her and touched her knee. She felt her knee begin to shake from his contact. He looked sincere about what he had just said. She smiled back and placed her hand on his. "I forgive you Zak, and I do understand your concern for me." He was surprised yet happy with her response. He smiled back and placed his other hand over hers and caressed it. "Do you think we can work this out then?" Asked Zak, almost pleading again.

"Yeah, we can." She replied almost in a soft coo. Zak moved himself closer to her with his hands still on hers. He looked deeply into her nervous eyes and locked his gaze in hers.

Kate's mind went crazy as her face began to get hot. _What is he doing? What should I do!_

Zak flashed one of his famous grins sending the girl into a complete full facial heat flash attack. But he didn't really notice, he himself was getting red cheeked from the closeness.

_What should I do next? _

She smiled back at him making his heart begin to pound a thousand beats a minute. If there wasn't a better time to try to steal a kiss, _now_ was the perfect time to do it.

_Be brave Zak, _He thought to himself as he readied himself to attempt a kiss. He lean his face down towards her's slowly and a bit hesitantly. Kate's brown eyes shot wide open while he made his way down. _What is he trying to do? He couldn't be,... trying to kiss me,... could he?_

She stayed perfectly still unsure of what to do. _Should I move closer? What If he isn't trying to kiss me? I could make myself look foolish! _

All while she debated in her head, he was closer now than ever. Her cheeks glowed red and her eyes stayed locked on his. Her heart pounded to the sound of these words: _Kiss him! Kiss him! _

She pulled together all her strength and fluttered her eyes as she began to move her head towards his. Their eyes began to close as they prepared to make contact.

_She's gonna kiss me!_ Zak cheered in hi mind like a little boy.

_My first kiss, at last! _Kate cried in her own mind.

***Knock! Knock! Knock!**

Loud knocks interrupted their moment of intense romance. They both stopped and quickly turned to the door as if someone had come in and caught them. Kate's face turned red hot from anger. She was ready to kill whoever was at the door. Even if it was her own mother. She jolted up and stopped towards the door while Zak looked wondering who it was who interrupted his moment of bravely trying to kiss the girl he had been liking more and more the closer he got to her.

_I'll kill the dumb a** who's knocking on the d*** door! _He thought in rage as he balled his fist.

Kate got to the door and threw it open "What is it!" She cried with her hand on her hip. Her heart sank and her eyes popped open wide and in shock at the sight of who was at the door.

Ashley with her poodle in her hobo bag and her oversized sunglasses on her face was standing in the door way with one of her ever so innocent grins on her face. "Hi! I'm here to go ghosty hunting!" Zak quickly got onto his feet and ran for the door. He stood beside Kate with the same look on his face as her's. "Ash, why are you here?" He asked almost muttering the words rather then saying them. "Because I wanted to help my baby do his job and find the scary ghosts!" She cried happily. She gave Kate a brief uninterested glance. "You never wanted to before, why are you so interested now?"

Asked a puzzled Zak. Ashley pushed Kate aside and ran up to Zak with her hands around his neck. "Because I was thinking maybe we should do more things together!" She screeched. "Why not get interested in the same stuff!" She added. Kate rolled her eyes and sat on the bed with her legs crossed. _Yeah, he's really gonna want to paint his nails neon green and listen to Madonna on his ipod all day. _

"Can I come Zak! Please!" Zak stared at with his same puzzled look, then he looked back at Kate. She shook her head in response and mouthed the word "no". He looked back at his happy looking girlfriend with her eyes full of hope awaiting for an answer, He sighed and give her a hug back.

"Alright Ash, but you need to listen to everything I tell you to do so you'll be safe." He almost couldn't get everything he said to her out of his mouth before she started screaming. "Thank you Zak! I'll do everything you ask me!" She ran out of the room down the hall for her room. Zak shut the door and locked it hoping she wouldn't come back. He looked at Kate who's eyes where wide open, and her hand on her mouth. She looked up at him with the same expression. "Zak why!" She said on impulse. "She's going to make this lockdown much harder than it already is going to be!"

Zak slumped his shoulders and rubbed the back of his head. "Kate I'm trying to persuade her into not going. She might not want to go if I offer her money to go shopping." "All night?" She replied with her hands crossed. Zak didn't know what to say next. Ashley showing up unannounced wanting to participate ion the lockdown was never a concern of his until now. He already didn't want Kate to go to Bob Mackeys and now he had to possibly worry about Ashley. At least Kate had experience with the paranormal. Ashley didn't even know what a poltergeist was.

Kate stood up with her arms crossed and walked towards the door facing the wall not wanting Zak to see the anger and jealousy in her eyes. "Maybe you should tell her how dangerous it is." She said quietly. "No, she'll just say that I'm being to paranoid and ignore me." He replied. He obviously knew she was upset about Ashley wanting to come along, but he really didn't know what to do at that point. He picked up his jacket off the arm chair and headed for the door where Kate was still standing. He touched her shoulder with his hand softly. She turned around and looked up at him with the same nervous eyes she had right before he kissed her soft cherry flavored lips. He looked away almost unable to keep a straight face without blushing.

"Look, I'll figure something out and try to keep her from coming, but I can't make any promises." He opened the door and left in a hurry as if he was needing to catch a bus. Kate watched him until he turned the corner disappearing. Her shoulders slumped and her eyes drooped. "Right when I has the guts to kiss him, this happens!"

_Why is this girl trying to ruin my life? _


End file.
